Apocalyptic Measures
by MoonShadow269
Summary: An Absol on the run, an upcoming Two-Part Tournament, and the resurrection of a group that nobody had anticipated to return shakes Hoenn to its core. When three famous figures supposedly return from the dead, how will the people of Hoenn react to their reappearance? Name changes and game/manga crossover.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

Quick note: Hey everyone! I apologize for not writing as often as I had initially promised, but that was because I wasn't aware of how much homework I was going to get with this school year. I know that I initially said that I would be writing a LucyxAlfendi fanfic along with another Warrior Cats Fanfic, but I'm hitting a writer's block for both of those. On top of that, I have so much homework that I'm just barely pulling out time for me to start up this series.

NOTE: CHARACTER NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED. Brandon, who is the male protagonist of the third generation, is named Zenith. Carter is the male protagonist from HeartGold/SoulSilver. Felix is the male protagonist from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Lastly, I know there's a lot of controversy over whether Blue is the counterpart to Gary or Green is, but for me, Blue is the counterpart to Gary. Green is the girl from the manga series.

* * *

_Bud-ump. Bud-ump._ The soft inhale and exhale began to slow, tapering off at a steady, death-like whisper. _Bud-ump. Bud-ump_. Eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration as the background noise was gradually erased from the background. _Bud-ump. Bud-ump. Bud-u—crack_. Chestnut eyes snapped open, gaining a chilling red tinge as they settled on a hidden being. The breath that had been caught was carefully released, tugging lightly at alabaster teeth before escaping into the wilderness in a puff of white.

A low growl came from the undergrowth, a myriad of confused snuffles following the overpowering, domineering voice. A smile tugged on the corners of the figure's lips as it stood in the clearing, staring into the barren crowd of trees and into the crimson eyes of the beast guarding a pack of Sawsbuck. "It's been so long, Apocalypse," the figure whispered wistfully. Auburn eyes softened as it gazed at the black-and-white creature. "Come home."

A shiver of anticipation ran up the figure's spine when it heard a slight hesitation and the beast step forward. The Pokémon stepped out of the undergrowth, scarlet eyes studying the black-cloaked figure as his paws rested gently on the snow. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, the history of their interlaced past playing out within their shared gaze. But the huffing sounds behind the beast made him tear his crimson eyes away, but not before he cast his former owner a heart-wrenching and melancholic glance.

The figure watched as the black-and-white creature disappeared into the darkness of the forest and let out a soft sigh. Casting a mournful smile in the direction of the retreating beast, the figure turned away from the clearing and headed back home. Behind it, two black shadows followed, tossing each their stubborn glares into the forest of night.

* * *

"…Wally!" The chartreuse haired boy looked up in surprise, nearly stumbling backwards as the girl before him leaned closer. "Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, May," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Do you mind repeating what you said?" Her blue-eyes narrowed in exasperation and she huffed angrily as she put her hands on her hips.

"Like I was saying," the brunette grit out, "Zenith's hosting a championship tournament. He wants as many top-of-the-line trainers as possible to compete. All the gym leaders, elite four members, and champions are already invited, but there other trainers have the ability to join in on this too."

"And why are you telling this to me?"

"Because Zenith has specifically asked us—his friends—to go out and find trainers who show potential and should be invited to the tournament. Gym leaders have been advised that if they want to compete the tournament, they have to run their gyms simultaneously in order for new trainers to come up. What we're responsible for doing is going to the first gym of each region, find trainers who seem to be different from the others, and follow them through the various gyms. Zenith says that if they manage to beat four gym leaders in a single week, we should input their names on the tournament list. Will you do it?"

Wally let out a thoughtful humming noise. It had certainly been a while since he had seen Zenith (after all, that man was becoming a little too famous after becoming a champion), and it had been a few months since he had last been in action. Wally had been training hard ever since Zenith had defeated him at the end of Victory Road and he was determined to show the Hoenn Champion how he much had grown since then.

"Sure, why not? We're not exempt from the tournament, are we?"

"Nope. Oh, the tournament's going to be so much more interesting now that there are going to be more people there!" May cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. "I heard that Zenith's planning on holding a Pokémon contest too, if there are enough people to compete! Let's get started immediately! We have ten months!"

"_Ten months?_" Wally spluttered. "That's a lot of time!" May shot him a look and shook her head.

"Wally, setting up tournaments like this takes a _long_ time. Why do you think they have a championship once every year for trainers to participate in? Besides, it gives us more time to find more participants." She patted him on the shoulder twice. "Cheer up, Wally. Ten months will be over much faster than you initially thought."

"Maybe. What should we do with the trainers who've already beaten the gym leaders and haven't taken down the elite four yet?"

"The gym leaders have it all down. They have the phone numbers of everyone who showed a lot of promise. Who knew networking could be so convenient?" May grinned at him. "Well, I better be going now. I need to see if there are any contest participants who want in on this event!" Wally balked at her words.

"What? You're not helping me?"

"Oh come on, I have to make sure that we have contest participants! We can't just have trainers who battle all day long! Besides, you're only responsible for Hoenn. Carter has to take care of Johto and Ben offered to work in Kanto. Not to mention that, but Felix even decided to take some time away from his training to recruit trainers in Sinnoh." The chartreuse haired boy shook his head in defeat.

"Alright, alright. Keep in touch?" The brunette grinned as she climbed onto her Swellow.

"Of course! Tell me if any good contestants come your way!" Wally shook his head humorously and waved goodbye to the blue-eyed girl as she disappeared into the sky.

* * *

"_And here's Michael and his Castform, with the weather—"_

_-Click-_

"_What? No, it can't be!"_

_-Click-_

"_There seems to be a swarm of Hopips currently on Route 101. These Pokémon are making it difficult for trainers to cross—"_

_-Click-_

"Thank you for waiting. We've restored your Pokémon to full health. Please, come back again any time!" Dark chestnut eyes tore themselves away from the flickering TV screen to look at the pink-haired nurse across the counter. Giving her a small smile, the black-haired girl collected her pokéballs and slipped them into the side of her back. One of the balls twitched and a large Arcanine burst out, shaking her fur out and stretching leisurely. The woman behind the counter looked a bit surprised at the dog Pokémon's sudden appearance, but relaxed slightly when the girl petted the Pokémon.

"Thank you," the girl told the nurse before heading over to the lounge area of the Pokémon center. Her eyes were glued to the flickering screen as she watched the channel switch every few seconds.

"_Professor Oak joins us tonight—"_

_-Click-_

"_We've just met an amazing trainer on Route 122! Her name is—"_

_-Click-_

"_Goooood Morning Hoenn! Today, we have a guest speaker—Mr. Zenith Sterlight!" _Applause filled the speakers. The girl glanced at the person with the remote, seemingly satisfied with the current channel on the screen. _"Now, Mr. Sterlight, what brings you here today? You've been a very busy man…"_

"_Haha, I suppose that's true."_

"_Mhmm! So, what's this about the tournament that you're planning on hosting? The news came out about nine months ago, but it's still _all the rage_ with trainers today!"_ The man in the white hat laughed gently at the talk show host's words.

"_Is that so? That's great to hear. Well, it's actually a two-part championship—one for trainers and one for contest-lovers—that's going to be hosted right here in Hoenn. I've already invited all the gym leaders and Elite Four members to this tournament, but I'm hoping to get some other trainers into the fray."_

"_So about the two-part championship—are the contests and the battles going to be run simultaneously?"_

"_No, the contests will be held in the mornings and the battles will be held in the evenings. As a dual contest participant and trainer myself, I understand that people like to compete in both. By doing it this way, trainers will be able to participate in both parts of the championship."_

"_How strategic! What will the prizes be?"_

"_There will be some rare items that are going to be given as prizes. Honestly, I would say everyone who participates in this tournament will be a winner in the end, because the most valuable prize of all is just the experience of being able to compete with amazing trainers and contest participants."_

"_Well said! Now, I understand that you've sent out some people to recruit trainers from _all over_ in order to compete in this championship. How are the matches going to be set up?"_

"_A lottery, of sorts. Since there will be so many participants, we've turned to Bill to come up with a lottery system that pairs random trainers together and makes a table that is partially based on how each participant does in the tournament. Each time a trainer defeats someone, they earn three points. Also, closer to the end of each night, we'll have an event known as the 'Gauntlet Challenge', What the Gauntlet Challenge does is that it allows a trainer to survey the amount of points that are won by their peers and they are allowed to challenge anyone they want to a battle."_

"_Very interesting! How many people are currently participating in this tournament?"_

"_We have about a hundred trainers and fifty contestants already waiting for the tournament. However, there is more than enough space for more trainers to join in. My good friend Wally just called me this morning to say that he's waiting at Rustboro Gym for the next trainer that catches his eye."_

"_That sounds amazing! Is the championship going to be aired on television?"_

"_Yes, of course. It'll be on channel one."_

"_Thank you for your time, Mr. Sterlight. We hope your tournament goes well!"_

"…"

"_Want to participate in the next Ryhorn Races? Our competitors will see you there!"_

_-Click-_

Suddenly disinterested, the black haired girl turned away from the scene and headed out of the Pokémon center, her Arcanine falling into step beside her. The two of them walked in silenced for a few moments before the dog Pokémon nudged her owner's shoulder. The girl smiled at the Pokémon pulled out a pokéball. "Rustboro, right?" The Arcanine disappeared in a flash of red and the girl carefully climbed onto her Dragonite's back before taking off into the sky.

* * *

A/N: How was that, guys? Did my writing get a little too much on the rusty side? If so, sorry!

So yeah, as I was saying, I wanted to get started on this story because of the crazy X&Y stuff that's going on and that I've been missing my Pokemon for way too long! I'm actually also working on a Sherlock fanfic (because I recently fell in love with the TV series) and I have a ridiculous amount of homework building up behind me. Either way, I greatly apologize for not writing any of the things that I had initially said I would write.

So, I'm actually a bit unsure of whether I want to write the ULTIMATE HETALIA CROSSOVER because some of my friends said that the crossover would only discourage readers and be upset because they wanted to read the fanfic to learn about that one series as opposed to multiple stories. Of course, I still want to go through with it, but I want to know if there will actually be readers out there who want to read those kinds of things.

Well anyway, I think I'm making this A/N too long, so I'll be writing off now.

R&R!


	2. A New Way of Battling

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!

* * *

Wally kicked absentmindedly at the ground, surveying the line leading up to Rustboro Gym wearily. There had to be twenty—no, thirty people waiting to fight Roxanne. The chartreuse-haired boy scratched his with a sigh as he propped himself against the side of the gym, surveying the people who were fiddling with a mixture of boredom and excitement. Over the course of nine months, he had registered approximately fifty new trainers into the tournament—all who showed some potential in the battle rounds. After the first two weeks of following trainers through their journey from gym to gym, Wally gave up on trailing individuals and instead followed groups at a time. As the groups broke off into people who were ready to take on the next gym ASAP and people who needed time to train, Wally told the stragglers to talk to the gym leaders before leaving with those who were prepared to take on harder trainers.

It was almost a careless thing to be doing to these trainers, but those who showed the most promise would prove to be stronger in a shorter amount of time. Besides, it wasn't as if the trainers who stayed back to grind out wild battles wouldn't join the others at the tournament eventually. Wally yawned and blinked at the trainer that raced out of the gym, his pokéballs gathered in his arms and his feet stumbling towards the Pokémon center. Another bad one, it seemed.

"Roselia!" Two roses, one red and one blue, suddenly appeared in his line of sight and Wally found himself staring down at his thorn Pokémon. He waved his flowers back and forth cheerfully in a small dance, smiling all the while. The Pokémon trainer smiled and gently petted his Pokémon's head, mindful of the spines on his crown.

"I know, I know. There's bound to be another good trainer out there." But was there? All the trainers that he had picked up were considered mediocre, one of the rivaling the sixth gym at the best. There wasn't anyone who had been quite as overpowering as Zenith had been—or May for that matter. And she was more interested in contests than actual battles!

Roselia suddenly tensed and Wally looked up in alarm. Several trainers braced themselves for an extremely strong gust of wind as a large, golden Pokémon steadied itself for landing. The Dragonite landed elegantly on its feet, lowering itself to the ground slightly so its rider could leap off its back. A black haired girl patted the dragon Pokémon gently and returned it to its pokéball. After she surveyed her surroundings, she turned and headed off to the Pokémon center.

"Huh. That was a funny one," Wally whispered to his Roselia, who was staring after the retreating trainer. "I almost thought she was going to challenge Roxanne." He felt a stab of disappointment go through him. The girl had a Dragonite—an extremely rare and powerful Pokémon. It must've taken her years to evolve it from a Dragonair. If she had been planning to challenge Roxanne with that Dragonite…regardless of type effectiveness, she would've easily defeated the ground-type gym leader. "Well, too bad," he muttered to himself. "She must already be on the invite list."

* * *

The black haired girl headed straight for the computer, casting a sympathetic glance to a tearful trainer who was watching his Pokémon in the healing machine. He was obviously inexperienced—especially in the fact that he brought several bird Pokémon to a ground-type gym.

A small chirping noise informed her that the computer had booted up and was asking for her username and password. Typing it in quickly, she drummed her fingers on the keyboard and waited for her boxes to load. Once the screen popped up, she skipped over to her "WATERICE" box and checked her team.

The Pokémon in her box were more than capable of taking on the first gym leader without even batting an eyelash, but a small voice in the back of her head tried to convince her to keep her team as it was and battle through the gyms without trying for type effectiveness. It was both a novice and a veteran game to play—only beginners attacked without the knowledge of type effectiveness and only veterans played in order to test their limits with disadvantaged or equally advantaged Pokémon. Everyone else played with type effectiveness because it was the easiest route to go.

Her eyes flickered back to the box and took inventory of the Pokémon available to her. Borealis, Majesty, Kraken, and Neptune each perked up slightly when they noticed her presence. They were definitely more used to being on the B-team as opposed to her A-team…_If I let any of you participate in this gym battle…you will be returned to the box immediately after winning_, she thought, partially directing the warning to her Pokémon. Each of them calmed down significantly after she thought this, but Neptune, stood up a bit straighter. A small smile flickered onto the girl's face as she pulled Leviathan out of his place (with a small complaint from the Gyarados) and carefully took out her Poliwrath.

"Alright, buddy. The Roman Sea King rises."

* * *

"Wally, I'm sure it's much easier to decide who you want to test if you're actually inside watching the matches," Roxanne teased as she stepped out of the gym for a breather.

"It's worked so far," Wally retorted, stretching slightly. "But it is getting a bit chilly, so I'll step inside with you." The gym leader smiled at him and beckoned the next trainer in. They watched the challenger run into the gym before taking the alternate path that would bring them straight to the gym leader's room. "How have the trainers been looking?"

"I'm sure you've seen them yourself," Roxanne snorted, rolling her eyes. "Half of the ones that come in don't even make it to me. Most of the good trainers are already challenging other gyms or waiting for the month to pass. I would complain to Zenith about how I have trainers challenging me from dawn to dusk, but it is good advertisement for the gym. Speaking of trainers," she commented, glancing up a small black screen with two red buttons and a green one, "that trainer I just called in didn't make it past Mark. Or didn't even get to him. These trainers should know better than to come and challenge me with flying or fire types."

"What can you do?" Wally laughed helplessly. "They'll learn in time. Or at least, if they even bother to check the Trainer School." Roxanne smiled wryly at his words and looked up when two chimes rang through the room. "What does that mean?"

"It means," she replied slowly, a small smile creeping onto her face as she surveyed the three red buttons, "that someone managed to take down all three of my _assistants_ just minutes after the other trainer left." _Minutes?_ Since Roxanne was the first gym leader, she wasn't allowed to whip out level seventy Pokémon against newbie trainers, but for a novice to take down all three of her assistants within minutes…there was something promising about this trainer. He glanced over at Roxanne and was surprised to see a determined smirk settling on her face. "There's something different about this one," she murmured softly. "I can feel power radiating through the wall."

"_Feel_ power? As in sense it? I thought that was up to Liza and Tate!" Wally joked half-heartedly. The gym leader shot him a look just as the challenger appeared in the doorway. The two of them looked up to see who it was and he nearly felt his jaw drop at the black-haired girl who stepped in. The girl with the Dragonite! He thought she had already been registered in the tournament. "Roxanne," he hissed softly, leaning towards the gym leader. "That girl has a Dragonite."

"So?" She whispered back. "She may have borrowed it. And it doesn't have type advantage here, if you haven't forgotten that." _Right_, Wally thought. _Dragon-flying._ The taupe-haired girl stepped away from him and gave her gym leader speech before initiating the battle. The black haired challenger raked her dark chestnut eyes over him before sending out a Poliwrath into battle. Wally glanced over at Roxanne and noted the mixture of surprise and excitement in the gym leader's face. "Geodude! Defense curl!"

The challenger merely watched the scene play out before her and didn't make a move or call out to her Pokémon. _Most trainers would've attacked by now…or at least do something to increase their stats_, Wally thought critically. _What is this girl thinking?_ Roxanne's eyes narrowed slightly and she called out to the trainer. "Are you going to battle with me?"

"The first punch is yours," the girl called back. A look of distaste crossed the gym leader's face and Wally winced inwardly. _Wrong move_, he thought, _don't test a gym leader. They like fighting their opponents without handicaps._

"I am the first gym leader. I can't have you thinking that every trainer you fight needs to have a chance of attacking after a stat boost."

"The first punch is yours," the girl repeated, a small, knowing smile on her face. Roxanne pursed her lips and nodded to her Geodude.

"Geodude, tackle!" The rock Pokémon rushed forward, turning to an angle and preparing to ram straight into the frog Pokémon.

"Neptune." _Is she going to send out a move now? Right when the opponent is attacking?_ Wally stiffened in anticipation, leaning forward slightly to see more clearly. The Poliwrath leapt over the Geodude and grabbed one of its arms. Swinging its body to the side, the Pokémon released the Geodude into the wall.

"Geo!" The brown Pokémon dislodged itself from the wall and surged forward, heeding his trainer's second call for a tackle. Again, the frog Pokémon dodged the charge and watched as the Geodude skidded to a stop and stormed forward. _What is she doing? She's not even fighting back!_ Wally could see the confusion and irritation written all over Roxanne's face as she sent her Pokémon after the challenger's Poliwrath again. This time, however, the counterattack came.

"Submission." The blue Pokémon raised a hand above its head and brought it down onto the Geodude hard, sending it straight into the ground. Wally felt his tense shoulders slacken with shock as Roxanne withdrew her Pokémon and sent out another Geodude. An immediate one-hit-KO. _What is she doing? _Wally thought. _She could've easily knocked Roxanne's first Geodude on the first try! Why was she stalling?_

"Geodude, rock throw!"

"Neptune." Again, with the name command. The Poliwrath leapt forward, blocking each and every rock that came in the direction of its trainer. Each projectile was gently pushed off to the side as the blue Pokémon seemed to move in an almost hypnotic trance. Wally felt his throat dry up as he stared at the battle before him. What was this battle tactic that the challenger was executing? She was defending against moves without actually getting hurt. She was attacking with the least amount of energy possible. "Waterfall."

Roxanne withdrew her last Geodude and pulled out her last pokéball, rolling the capsule in her hand before sending out her Nosepass. _The most powerful Pokémon Roxanne actually uses in gym battles_, Wally thought. _This one's the killer in the end._ "Rock tomb!" Rocks barreled down onto the Poliwrath, trapping it within a small circle. Just as the last rock came tumbling down to land on top of the blue Pokémon, the challenger spoke again.

"Dynamic Punch." The rock shattered into tiny fragments and the Poliwrath leapt forward, grabbing a hold of the Nosepass before tossing it up into the air. Bracing itself against the ground, the water Pokémon leapt into the air, hovering just a few feet over the falling rock Pokémon. _What? It's trainer didn't say anything!_ The Pokémon almost seemed to have a mind of its own. "Waterfall." A burst of water came crashing down, grinding the red-nosed Pokémon into the ground. _How did she know where it was going to be? Unless…_Wally quickly thought back to Yellow. _Telepathy? But how?_

Roxanne stepped forward to check the condition of her Nosepass before shaking her head and returning it to her pokéball. "Congratulations. That was an amazing battle…"

"Aretha."

"Thank you, Aretha. That was one of the most amazing battles I've ever participated in. Your prowess made me wish that I had my main team battling against you. But I'm sure that I will have that chance at the upcoming championship." She then launched into her after-battle spiel about giving the trainer a gym badge and a TM as a reward for beating her.

"Ah—I don't think that's necessary," Aretha said hastily, throwing up her hands as Roxanne stepped forward with a badge and TM in hand. "I don't really need either of those."

"What?" Wally was just as startled as the gym leader. Gym badges were considered trophies that most trainers carried around to brag about. To deny one was to deny a gold medal after winning a Pokéathalon or refusing to be recorded into the hall of fame after defeating the Elite Four and the Champion of a region.

"If you want to compete in the Championship, you'll need to have the first _five_ badges just to prove that you actually made the challenge," Wally informed her, stepping forward. "I can't actually place you on the list unless you have the five badges to prove that you actually completed the trial." At his words, Aretha glanced uneasily at the silver badge in Roxanne's hand.

"Take the gym badge, at least," the taupe-haired girl suggested. "You don't have to take the TM if you don't want to. It's just that most people like to have it as a secondary reward." Aretha gave the gym leader a small smile and gently picked up the badge before pinning it to her shirt. "If you want to fight the next gym leader, you'll find him in Dewford. He's a bit stronger than me, so be prepared!" The black haired girl merely smiled again and thanked Roxanne for her concern. When she left the gym, Wally waved goodbye to the gym leader.

"This one's a bit more promising than the others. I'll see you around," he told her before heading out of the gym. "Aretha! Wait up!" The black-haired girl, who had been heading toward the Pokémon center, stopped mid-step to look at him. "Do you mind if I join you? I haven't seen Brawly in a long time." It was a lie, and an obvious one at that. Wally wasn't quite sure how to ask the girl if he could tag along just to study her battling skills and he wasn't sure how she'd take to it.

"I suppose that's alright," Aretha replied. "Do you have your own flying Pokémon, or do you need me to provide one for you?"

"No, I'm alright," The chartreuse haired boy waved her off, unconsciously reaching for his Altaria. "Do you need to stop by the Pokémon center?"

"Just to drop Neptune off. Leviathan gets a bit antsy when I keep him in the box for too long." She paused and shook her head fondly. "A high-maintenance Gyarados. The only time that he's actually willing to stay in the box is if I'm training. Otherwise, he sulks for hours." She started towards the Pokémon center before turning back to him. "I'm sorry, what's your name? I'm afraid I didn't catch it in the gym."

"That's because I never gave it in the gym," he replied with a smile. "Wally. I'm Wally."

"Alright." The corners of her lips quirked up slightly. "Hello, Wally."

* * *

A/N: Yayyy! End of the second chapter! When I first wrote this and was going to transfer the document over to my laptop (unfortunately my USB was nowhere in sight and my dad wanted to Skype our relatives, so I was a bit rushed), I lost all my data...but then I looked up how to recover unsaved documents and I got it back...mostly in tact.

Anyway, quick reader shout-out (because it's a tradition now!)!

**RosaMeiWhite2** - Thank you sooo much for reading this! I was initially worried that these chapters weren't well-written enough to actually gain an audience, but I'm relieved to see that you enjoyed it. I would love to have a review from you with suggestions (if you have any) and I hope you follow me through the expanse of this story!

Well, that's all for now. Please Read and Review, everyone!


	3. The Humbled Beast

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

* * *

"Amazing." Wally shook his head in disbelief as Aretha walked out of Lavaridge Gym with the red badge pinned to her shirt. "Two minutes. What battle tactic were you using this time?"

"Maybe you should've been inside to watch," she teased, heading over to the Pokémon center.

"I had to take a call!" Wally cursed Carter inwardly as he headed after her. Carter, who was finishing up things in Johto, had called to complain about the lack of good trainers and how he was much more interested in finding random trainers on routes as opposed to hanging out in front of gyms and taking the first people who walk out of there with a badge.

"_Just because you conquered the first gym doesn't mean that you'll be able to take down the first five gyms on your own_," the golden-capped boy had complained to Wally. "_I don't understand why Zenith made us wait around there rather than let us look for trainers by the fifth or fourth gym. The better trainers would show up _there_, if you ask me._" Wally faintly remembered that he had reminded Carter that Zenith wanted to have as many people competing as possible. "_Yeah, but how big is this tournament going to be? Gosh, there's got to be at least a hundred and _fifty_ people registered right now, not including the eighty-some number of gym leaders, Elite Four members, and Champions_."

It was a big tournament, but Zenith seemed to have everything under control. Luckily, he had enough sponsors and money on his own to be able to create a Pokeapp on his own, provide food for a two-week long tournament, and be able to do all sorts of crazy things with décor and fun side-events. "Knowing Zenith, he's prepared for this. If anything, I would say that he was planning this ever since he traveled to other regions and beat the champions over there," Wally told Carter.

"Two years ago? _Gosh, that guy has way too much time on his hands!_" _And likes battling too much_, the chartreuse-haired boy added. "_Well, there's a promising lookin' feller comin' outta t'gym right now…Gotta go!_"

"As long as you don't scare him with that atrocious accent!" Just as the call ended, Aretha had walked out, making a wave of disappointment crash over Wally. He had watched her battle through the trainers in the gym and had to leave just as she challenged Flannery. "My friend was calling me. He's the kind of person who would take ignored calls to heart."

"Don't we all?" Aretha laughed, depositing Neptune and another Pokémon into her PC box. Wally smiled at her words and followed her as she headed out, watching as she nonchalantly allowed her Arcanine to jump out of her ball. "It'd be a good idea to challenge Petalburg as soon as possible, but five gyms in two days seems a bit too ambitious," she said, petting the quasi-legendary Pokémon fondly.

"Really? If I were you, I'd make a note about it when updating the tournament app Zenith provided. The friend that just called—he had trained for quite a while in Johto, so when he went to Kanto, he took down all eight gyms in five days."

"Impressive," Aretha whistled appreciatively. "But it doesn't seem hard if you're really in sync with your Pokémon. As long as your heart beats with theirs…everything will eventually open up to you." As if to prove her point, her Arcanine leaned into her touch lovingly, nearly towering over the black-haired girl. Wally regarded the quasi-legendary dog thoughtfully. Aretha was a little shorter than average (5'2", maybe?), and most Arcanines were about 6'3" (which was about six inches taller than Wally at this point), but her Arcanine seemed to be a little taller than most.

"How tall…is your Arcanine exactly?" Wally asked distractedly, staring up at the orange and black dog.

"Arky? She's about 6'5"." Aretha blinked and chuckled. "Which is funny, since she was quite the runt when I first found her. Don't worry. I can still ride on her back, somehow. We've been practicing ever since she was a baby." Wally's mind quickly formulated a bizarre image of a five foot two Aretha trying to sit on a baby Growlithe's back. He couldn't hold back the snort that rose up in his throat and doubled over, laughing until tears came into his eyes. Aretha shot him a distasteful and horrified look and shook her head in disbelief. "Not like that!"

"How—old—were—you—when—you—got—" Wally gasped between breaths, "—her?"

"Ten. It's been six years." A wistful smile crossed her face as she patted Arky's neck again. "And I was much shorter then…well, at least shorter than I am now. We waited until she evolved into an Arcanine before I tried riding on her back."

"So wait, you had her as a Growlithe?"

"An egg," Aretha corrected him, an extremely tender look filling her eyes. "Most Pokémon eggs are large enough so that a full grown person could only hold two at time. Arky's egg was small enough so that she could've been held along with two other regular eggs. "About the size of a large orange," she informed him, holding her arms up in the general size of the egg.

"What? How did she grow from something _that small_ into what she is today?"

"I don't know. My housekeepers say that it must be what I'd been feeding her, but she pretty much lives off of the food we give her. I didn't know that most Arcanines were fed on a diet of Pokéfood and meat, but she seemed to like the leftover broccoli I gave her when I was ten," Aretha shrugged, "besides, that extra calcium probably made her taller. And the free-range meat that we give her definitely does wonders for her fur." Wally glanced at the Arcanine, following the silky smoothness of the quasi-legendary Pokémon's pelt and her bright eyes.

"Are all your Pokémon like this?"

"I don't know," Aretha admitted. "Paladin was small when I got him too, but I would say that he's a bit smaller than most Dragonites. I have a habit for choosing the Pokémon that everyone says will be the weakest of the litter. Honestly, I think they'd be the most powerful, if their size and their hidden power was exercised regularly."

Wally stared at the girl in front of him in disbelief. A complete dark horse trainer, one who had a completely different way of fighting battles, a team aces that would've been mishaps had she never come across them, and a love for those who were looked down upon and pushed aside. He felt his heart warm slightly when he thought back to when he had been training with his Gardevoir when he had still been a Ralts. Being sickly and thin, he had often been told that his dreams of being a Pokémon trainer would be difficult—if not nearly impossible—to achieve. If Aretha had been his side growing up…maybe he would've been closer to Zenith's level than he was now.

Just as he was about to voice his appreciation in how she cared and saw Pokémon, Aretha tensed and quickly leapt onto the back of her Arcanine. "Apocalpyse!" She yelled, lowering herself onto the quasi-legendary Pokémon and taking off.

"Wha—Aretha, wait!" Wally hastily pulled out his Altaria and flew after her, urging his dragon Pokémon to fly as quickly as possible. Before long, he felt his heart sink in disappointment as the cream and orange haunches of Aretha's Arcanine disappear into the distance, chasing a ghost that he couldn't see.

* * *

"Why are you so disappointed? You'll probably see her at the tournament," Carter said, trying to cheer his friend up. In the last few days of the "trainer-roundup" that Zenith had asked them to do, Wally had called to voice his concerns for a trainer that he felt held a lot of promise.

"_But…I was looking forward to seeing her battle with Norman_," the chartreuse-haired boy whimpered pathetically over the line. Carter rolled his eyes and pushed through the tall grass, keeping an eye out for trainers as his Dragonite lumbered behind him.

"If anything, it sounds like you're sporting a little crush on her," he retorted. "How long have you known her? A week? Two weeks? If she took down four gym leaders in two weeks, that's far from promising."

"_Four gym leaders in two _days_, Carter_", the voice corrected, "_and I'm not sporting a crush on her! It's not possible for that to happen when you've only known someone for two days!_"

"_Two days?_" The black-haired boy spluttered. He could almost picture Wally rolling his eyes over the call.

"_Yes, that's what I said, right?_" The chartreuse-haired boy replied dryly. "_But hear me out. She has this weird way of battling…like she uses the opponents' moves against them. And she doesn't actually _tell_ her Pokémon to do anything. She has them on name command._"

"Name command, huh?" Carter mused, shooting Dracon bemused look. He could almost imagine how easy it would be for him to beckon his Pokémon by their names. But then again, if they didn't know exactly what Carter wanted them to do in battle…then it would be quite hectic. "And how exactly does that work?"

"_Well, she sends the Pokémon out and when the opponents attack, she uses their name and then the Pokémon pretty much defends, uses its agility to dodge, or just waits for her to tell them an attack. When she was battling Roxanne, there was a Geodude coming at her and her Pokémon grabbed onto the Geodude and swung it around like a lasso before throwing it into the wall._"

"_Without_ any extra commands? Just its name?" Carter asked.

"_Just the name_," Wally affirmed. "_There's a strong trust bond between them. I remember when she went up against Wattson, she didn't even say a move and her Pokémon still executed it like it had been told to._"

"Telepathy, like Yellow, you think?" Carter asked distractedly, frowning when a bolt of lightning came down on the earth before him.

"_Maybe. But she's not actually in contact with her Pokémon. She's not actually touching them when they attack or do whatever._" A pause. "_Carter? You still there?_"

"I'll…call you back," he muttered absentmindedly. "There's some funky lightning show going on right now."

"_Funky lightning show—ugh, I'll ask you later. Go,_" Wally said.

"Bye." Carter ended the call and began to push through the tall grass quickly as he could, calling out to Dracon over his shoulder. The intensity of those lightning bolts reminded him of his Raikou and how it had torn up the ground with every leapt it made. _Is it possible—?_ Were there more Raikous out there? Carter's mind raced. But that was impossible! It refuted all studies that had been provided by researchers. Did it mean that the scientists had each been studying a different legendary each time?

Suddenly, the lightning stopped and Carter burst out of the tall grass, his Dragonite close behind. Atop a slightly elevated path of land, an orange Raikou with a golden tail stood before a figure cloaked in black. Raking his eyes over the Pokémon, he realized that the coloring was different from his own Raikou, which was a yellow and purple mix. _A shiny?_ Carter felt his body shiver in excitement. There were stories about rare shiny Pokémon who would sometimes appear when trainers looked hard enough for them. Although there were no legends regarding shiny _legendary_ Pokémon, a shiny Raikou stood before Carter now, crackling with electricity and power.

The figure lifted up an arm and Carter strained to see what it was holding. Distractedly climbing onto Dracon's back, he saw the telltale yellow-and-black coloration of an ultraball. _What? What is that person doing? You need to have a Pokémon out when making a capture!_ There was a risk that the Pokémon that was to be captured would attack the challenging trainer or escape immediately. His own Raikou, Carter remembered, had run away from him several times. He had to use Riddler, his Wobbefett, to make sure that the legendary couldn't run away. The figure on the ledge before him, however, had neither a Pokémon nor the position to throw the ultraball.

Instead, it seemed to almost _offer_ the ultraball to the Shiny Raikou, which was taking a wary step forward. _How is that possible?_ Legendary Pokémon fled for a reason. They would escape from trainers who weren't worthy to be their masters. Although his own Raikou had shown a lot of interest in him and wanted to take him as a master, Carter still had to battle the legendary to show that he was worthy to train him. Instead, this Shiny Raikou stepped forward and sniffed the ultraball without a single care in the world.

Carter felt his throat tighten slightly. No, something was off here. A legendary wouldn't suddenly belittle itself to be captured by a trainer. The Raikou was now close enough to the figure that it could've easily lifted the ball and pressed the legendary Pokémon's nose to the capture seal. However, it stood there motionless, as if waiting for the thunder beast to make its decision.

Was there a Pokémon hiding in the shadows, controlling the Raikou's moves? Forcing it into going to this trainer? Carter's mind raced wildly as he tried to think of all the explanations as to why the legendary Pokémon was acting so strangely. Before he could make up his mind and intervene, the Shiny Raikou brought its nose down onto the ultraball and disappeared into a ray of yellow light. Carter watched as the ultraball twitched three times in the figure's outstretched palm before settling down with a click.

The figure turned suddenly, the dark hood pointing directly in Carter's direction. The black-haired man stiffened immediately, ready to race over there and demand an explanation as to why the Raikou acted so differently. Before he could move, however, the figure threw the ultraball, releasing the Shiny Raikou from its ball. It stepped toward the legendary, reaching out a hand. Carter expected the Raikou to snap at the hand suddenly, as his own had, but instead the legendary Pokémon leaned into the touch, a low purring noise rumbling through the clearing.

_No matter what Pokémon you catch, they will generally be disagreeable when you first get them_, he remembered Professor Elm informing him when he returned with a very rambunctious Magikarp. _Especially legendary Pokémon. They'll fight you for quite a few long time before they get used to you._ This advice, which had been true for all the Pokémon that Carter had ever caught, suddenly became flawed by the scene before him. It was the first time that he had seen a proud legendary lower its head to willingly serve a trainer on the minute of servitude.

"Go, Hak." Carter snapped back into reality and looked up just in time to see the figure mount the Raikou before disappearing into the distance with a flash of lightning. He blindly groped for his Pokéwatch, dialing the first number he had.

"_Hello? This is Zenith…_" The black-haired man swallowed nervously and spoke slowly into the watch.

"Zenith, this is Carter. You won't believe what I just saw…"

* * *

A/N: ...Is it just me, or did I think the Pokemon fanbase is a lot bigger than what it seems to be now? Just as an experiment, I'm going to _remove_ the names of the characters that are going to be featured in this story so I can see if people are more willing to read fanfictions if they don't incorporate amazingly popular protagonists...

Well, I have to say I'm a disappointed while waiting for reviews and some more viewers (because honestly, Pokemon is an extremely large fanbase), but then again, as a writer, I shouldn't be expecting too much. Maybe the success my other stories had are getting to me, but then again, this is the first story that I've written so far that DOESN'T ship characters together. For those of you who are reading my stories and are just a bit too shy to review, I'm thankful towards you guys but I'm feeling a bit crestfallen right now because I only have one person's favorite to go off of.

Well, enough of me complaining. Please R&R, guys!


	4. Choice Map

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

* * *

Red yawned loudly, stretching sleepily as he wandered the halls. There were approximately four more days until the start of the tournament and in anticipation for the battles to come, he had decided to invade Blue's home for the week. The brunet had ushered him without a complaint and steered him to the guest room...which was usually inhabited by him anyway. The red-eyed individual loved staying over at Blue's condo whenever he wanted company, a battle, or when he was too lazy to cook for himself. Blue, being the better cook of the two, begrudgingly muttered something about it "being nice to have some company" whenever Red showed up at his doorstep with a Snubbull-worthy pout.

"Mornin'" he garbled as he stumbled into the ridiculously expensive essential-work-triangle kitchen that Blue had built upon moving in. There were two large sinks by the window, a six-burner stove, an island where meals could be eaten, and ridiculous amounts of cupboards everywhere. There was a small counter dividing the kitchen from the living room and Red propped his elbows up on the marble to look over at Blue. "Coffee?" He asked blearily.

"Counter," the brunet replied distractedly. The black-haired man shuffled back to the counter and poured himself a mug of coffee, mechanically pouring in a fair sum of cream and depositing some sugar cubes into the beverage. He padded over to the sofa and leaned against its backrest, craning his neck slightly to read over Blue's shoulder. The brunet glanced up at him before returning his attention back to the papers, carefully skimming through the news before closing it and offering it to Red. The latter shook his head and Blue returned the newspaper to his coffee table, lazily flicking on the television set.

Red felt a smile touch his lips when he saw Blue's Arcanine playing around with Pika. Carefully leaning over the backrest, he strained to reach the coffee table and nearly dropped his mug before Blue's hands appeared and took the cup away from him. Irritated green eyes glanced in his direction and Red laughed, maneuvering around the sofa before settling down beside the brunet. He would much rather leap over the backrest and land on the cushions, but last time he had attempted to do so, he had knocked into the glass coffee table and emptied their coffee mugs unceremoniously on top of Blue.

Eyes glued to the television screen, Red groped for his coffee mug and took a small sip as Blue surfed through the channels. Grimacing at the bitterness, he hastily returned Blue's mug to the table and innocently drank from his sweetened coffee. Blue, seemingly unaware of what had just happened, sipped his coffee and flipped through the channels and stopped at a cop drama. The two of them watched the screen for a few long moments before Red finally spoke up.

"So…looking forward to the tournament?"

"Mmm. I hear Zenith has a lot of events planned for everyone to do. It'll be fun."

"Fun? It'll be amazing!" Blue let out a distracted "hmm" sound. "Hey, I'm trying to talk to you right now. At least try to pay attention!"

"Red, we've had this conversation for the past few days," Blue groaned. "Not to mention that, but you've dragged me out of my condo at least ten times yesterday to battle over and over again despite the fact that my team couldn't have suddenly gained ten more levels over the course of twenty minutes. Not to mention that, but you distract prospective trainers when they come to my gym to battle me."

"Speaking of gym battles," Red started innocently, ignoring Blue's groan, "aren't you upset that you have to use a weaker team against those trainers? Wouldn't you just love fighting against them with your A-team?"

"That's not my purpose as a gym leader." Blue turned to face Red. "I'm supposed to act as a challenge against them, but I'm not actually supposed to be fighting with a team that can take down the Champion of the Elite Four."

"Well then, you should be happy that I'm here bothering you all the time," the black-haired man decided, watching his Pikachu chase after Arcanine's tail. "It's nicer to battle against other trainers than grinding out wild battles."

"I've always trained alone, Red," Blue sighed. "Besides, why are you visiting so frequently now? You were always so busy with Yellow…" The red-eyed man stiffened slightly at the woman's name and the brunet gave him a baffled look. "Wait. How long?"

"Two months," Red admitted.

"Two—" Blue grabbed the remote and turned the TV off abruptly. "Why didn't you tell me before then?" He demanded. "We're friends, aren't we?" Red looked up at his friend, taking in the shock, betrayal, and fear in Blue's green eyes. Suddenly, in the midst of all the tension and anticipation, the black-haired man burst out laughing.

"It was a mutual breakup, Blue. You don't have to look like you have to go and skin Yellow alive," he chuckled.

"Oh believe me, it's not her I want to skin," the brunet growled.

"Okay, got it. Let me get out of these clothes first." Winking at Blue's dumbfounded expression, Red cackled and doubled over, clutching his stomach as he curled into the side of the sofa. The green-eyed man let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head with a mixture of fondness and irritation. When Red finally calmed down, he smiled gently at Blue. "I didn't want to worry you, is all," he said. "After all, you were up to your neck with challenges in the past few weeks. I didn't want you worrying so much about it."

"How can I not worry about it?" Blue argued stubbornly. "After all, I'm your best friend, aren't I? Who else is going to be there and save your sorry ass when you get stuck in a tight spot?"

"Carter, Silver, and the rest of our friends?" Red suggested light-heartedly. Sobering up slightly at the icy glare that his friend shot him, the black-haired man rested his head on the brunet's shoulder. "I'm fine, Blue. Shouldn't you be more worried about the competition?"

"I'll worry about it more after I'm finished being angry at you," the Viridian City gym leader grumbled.

"I'll make it up to you," the former champion promised.

"How?"

"By letting you skin me alive," Red replied sweetly. "Of course, I'll have to get these clothes off first."

"_Red!_" Cackling, the black haired man leapt up from the sofa, just barely dodging the pillow that was thrown in his direction.

"It's a good look on your cheeks," he teased, escaping to the guest bedroom with a furious, armed-with-not-so-pillowy-mugs Blue racing after him.

* * *

"You're straining against the budget, Zenith," Crimson warned, skimming over the finances. The two of them sat together on his patio, nibbling away at their hastily made lunches as they discussed the finalities of the coming tournament. "I know you want to make this as extravagant as possible, but we can't afford to do too much now that we can't access the money that Felix donated for the Championship." She paused and sighed, glancing at her childhood friend with a wry smile on her face. "You can almost say that the Regional Sinnoh Bank robbery was staged just in time for the finishing touches of your tournament."

"You could argue that," Zenith agreed, watching Ukulele Pichu dance around his Wynaut. "But at the same time, I think I was going a bit too far with the spending. Any more and I'll put the entire region of Hoenn under regional debt." He chuckled and Crimson let out an exasperated huff. "I just hope the trainers aren't expecting _too_ much from this tournament."

"It's already much more extravagant than the Indigo League Championship," Crimson pointed out.

"I understand that, but extravagance comes with a price. It won't be extravagant unless everything works out well and our machines don't short-circuit. You remember what happened in Larousse City and their security robots, right?" Crimson winced and nodded, remembering how her Specialty Squadron Quick Silver (SSQS) had been sent in to help clean things up. The only problem was that tranquilizer guns weren't very effective against security robots… "That's exactly what I want to avoid. But something about the robbery tells me that now might not be the best time to execute the tournament…"

"Zenith. You've planned this for _two years_. Besides, look at all the people who are signed up for this tournament. They're looking forward to this too much for you to suddenly back out on it. Not to mention that, but—Zenith, what I'm trying to get at is that we're in too deep to suddenly abandon the project."

"I know. And that's why we're going to finish this tournament and do _whatever is in our power_ to make sure that it runs as smoothly as we can make it." Zenith's green eyes lit up with determination.

"Great. Now get someone who actually has experience with financing to look over your budget," Crimson informed him, tossing the documents at him playfully. "I'm a ranger, not an accountant!"

* * *

_Viridian City_. _Lavaridge City. Blackthorn City._ Aretha drew lines connecting the cities on six overlapping regional maps. _Eterna City_. _Celadon City_. Steps. Each and every one of these cities had some sort of connection to Apocalypse—there was no other reason as to why he would lead her to those cities. But what was his purpose?

Narrowing her eyes, she erased the line between Lavaridge and Blackthorn. _If he was waiting for me there, that means that he wanted to lead me to a different area._ She connected Viridian City and Blackthorn City before checking the rest of her map. If she were looking at regions, she went from Kanto to Johto to Sinnoh to Johto and then…_New Mauville. _Hoenn. _Mt. Silver_. Crossroads between Johto and Kanto. Technically Johto. _Verdanturf_. Hoenn.

K.J.S.J.H.J.H.

An acronym? Aretha shook her head. These letters meant nothing when scrambled together. There were no vowels, after all. She glanced hesitantly at the maps of Unova and Kalos. Would it be safe to tear them off? After all, she had never visited those regions…but there was a chance that Apocalypse would take her there.

Perhaps an acronym without the smaller, filler words such as "a", "the", "our"? No, there would be too much room for thought then. Was it possible that the names of each of the cities would work as a better acronym?

V. B. E. C. N. M. V.

_At least there's a vowel in this one_, Aretha thought irritably as she looked over the letters. But even they didn't give any obvious message. _No, no, no! You're overthinking this! There's no way that Apocalypse understand the human language!_ Although the Absol had been exceptionally intelligent, it wasn't nearly as intelligent as the legendary Mewtwo—which has been the only Pokémon to successfully communicate with humans in the human tongue. There had to be some other pattern…

A drawing? A track? Was Apocalypse supposed to appear suddenly and lead her to a clearing where she would turn left and right in a repetitive sequence until she finally came to a dead end? Aretha rubbed her temples with a strained sigh. Wally had asked her once if she was telepathic and could communicate with Pokémon through thoughts. In a ways yes, but it only worked on Pokémon who were either unaware of this power or were willing to share their thoughts and inner struggles with her. It would be no help to her in decoding the Absol's message. After all, the disaster Pokémon's mind had been long closed to her.

Just as quickly as it came, the fight drained out of Aretha. She was tired—chasing after Apocalypse. It had nearly been seven months since his disappearance and her housekeepers urged her to come home. _There are more important tasks at home_, they had told her. Azar, her Houndoom was expecting a litter in the next three weeks and Paladin often left her team to look over his newborn Dratini and Bagon offspring with Velika. Not to mention that, but Demetra, her Venasaur, was aging quickly. It wouldn't be long before her daughter, Ivy, would be left orphaned.

Choices_. Dull_, Aretha thought tiredly as she slumped over her map collage. Unfortunately for her, there was only one choice she could make. With Zenith's two-part tournament coming up, the last thing that she wanted to do was to go back home, where she would be able to take care of the aging Demetra and the incoming broods of Pokémon, but would lose her chance to battle powerful trainers and compete in contests. She mainly left her home to chase after Apocalypse and try to convince him to return to her, but when she had caught wind of the tournament, she had even more of an incentive to stay away.

_I'll have to call Xeno and Link,_ she thought wearily, straightening up slightly. _I hope they can watch over Demetra and the others while I'm gone._ Glancing at the clock and noting how late into the evening it had grown, she quickly gathered her things and stuffed them into her bag. _Two hours to take down the fifth gym_, she noted mentally. _Shouldn't take too long._

* * *

A/N: YAYYY! REVIEWER AT LAST! Ah-but, first, I should probably close up this story. If it wasn't clear to you all, there was a time skip in the last chapter (between when Aretha first ran off and Carter eventually seeing the Shiny Raikou being captured) and this is almost a side chapter that introduces you to some other characters that will be featured in the overall plot...eventually. They'll come in at some point.

NOTE: I also noticed some sort of typo in Chapter Three, but it's been fixed, so no worries!

So, skipping to the funner part of A/Ns, READER SHOUT-OUTS!

**Someone** - Thank you so much for reading! I am actually a HUGE supporter of guest readers (although it would be convenient on both our parts if you were able to at least follow the story because then you'll be getting notified when there are updates to the story) and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far. I understand that Aretha seems sue-ish right now, but once the REAL plot kicks in...oh, you're going to see something much different...But that's all I'll spoil for you right now, so keep reading!

Well anyway, for anyone out there who also reads these ridiculous things also known as "A/N"s, please R&R!


	5. Opening Day

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

* * *

"_Weeel_come to the Two-Part Hoenn Championship!" Nema announced, hovering over the crowd of trainers and contestants on one of her latest inventions. Wally smiled up to her as she looped around the audience and returned to the main stage. "My name is Nema and I'll be your host and your announcer over the course of the next two weeks! Now, first things first, when all of you open up your Tournament Pokéapp, you'll see a button that's named 'GPS'. Go ahead and type in wherever you need to get to—be it your dormitory, battle station, or the cafeteria! It'll lead you straight to your destination as long as you follow the directions that it gives you and the map that tracks your location and creates a blue path for you to follow!

"Next, when you enter your dormitories, you will come across a Tournament Schedule that will provide you with the general time frames for every single day! Pokémon contests will be held every day on exception for the last and battle days will vary depending on whether we have a mini-competition in store for all of you! For the first three days, the rules for each style battling—be it trainer-duo battles, single battles, or the Gauntlet Challenge—will be repeated at the start of each style. After that, all of you guys will be expected to remember the few rules that accompany each battle style!

"Remember that only the trainer-duo battles and single battles are required! Details will be provided in the announcements to come! Since today is the preparatory day of the Championship, there will be no battles or contests held today. Please make use of today and explore the entire grounds as best as you can so you can get around easily tomorrow! Now, a few words from the main sponsors of this Championship and then we'll have some opening shows to welcome everyone to the Two-Part Hoenn Championship. Although you are not required to stay for the shows, please do not leave and support our performers as they have worked hard to provide a very amazing opening show! Now, our sponsors!"

The crowd roared to life and Wally mentally thanked Zenith for arranging the area around the stage like an amphitheater. Also, three large screens displayed the stage in magnification, so the people furthest away from the activity could still see everything. This way, he could actually enjoy the show without being crowded by strangers that would block his line of vision. He cupped his hands around his mouth and cheered when Zenith, Carter, Felix, and three other people stepped onto the stage. Zenith took the mike from Nema, who quickly rose into the air on her hovercraft and smiled into the crowd.

The six sponsors each gave their speeches, each varying in length and style. Carter, the dual champion of Kanto and Johto, gave a speech that was short, humorous, and flashy. Zenith's was straight to the point, relaxed, and medium-length. Felix, the champion of Sinnoh, also gave a short speech and hastily passed the mike onto the next person. Unfortunately, all the three people who followed the three champions were businessmen and therefore spent approximately ten minutes discussing how their businesses were more than willing to provide money for the tournament. The person next to Wally yawned loudly as a statement and the chartreuse haired man smiled sympathetically. Thankfully, the speeches eventually ended and the mike was returned to Nema.

"Alright everyone! Now that the sponsors have given their 'words of wisdom', we'll be moving onto the first performance! Put your hands together for Diamond and Pearl, the humorous Sinnoh Duo!" The crowd cheered as two teenagers headed onto stage, one of them dressed conspicuously in an orange striped shirt and the other dressed suspiciously like Felix.

"Hey Diamond," the blonde in the orange and white shirt greeted. "There sure are a lot of different pokéflutes out there."

"There sure are, Pearl," the Felix-look-alike agreed.

"Right! The black flute for repelling, the blue flute for awakening, the red flute for ridding infatuation…"

"Then the yellow flute for focus, the purple flute for rain, the maroon flute for food…" Diamond drooled and Pearl smacked him on the head comically. A laugh ran through the audience and Wally smiled as the two of them continued on.

"There are also many berries with different flavors and purposes!"

"Yup, Pecha berries are sweet and cure poisoning and Cherri berries are spicy and cure paralysis. Because 'sugar makes the medicine go down' and everyone needs flaming mouths to get rid of their pins and needles!"

"Ever had a Magost berry?" Diamond asked suddenly.

"Magost? What do those do?"

"Well, they're used for making Poffins."

"Poffins! Well, don't tell me that now you're an expert in Poffin making!"

"Oh, I don't know, Pearl, Poffins are delicious!"

"…Please don't say tell me that you eat them."

"Believe me, Pearl, when you've had a sweet-bitter Poffin…you'd know just what you've been missing out on. Crispy yet tender, sweet yet bitter, all in that beautiful, brown _mush_."

"…I'll pass."

"Suit yourself." Diamond shrugged and his blonde friend sighed, smiling apologetically into the laughing audience.

"Well, moving on with the topics, there sure are Pokémon with truly surrealistic names! Magikarp, for one! I suppose the only thing magical about it is that it can transform into a Gyarados!"

"I think it's magical because it looks so bony but can still live for so long. Gosh, I should probably feed _my _Magikarp when I get home. He's named _Munchi_karp for a reason…"

"_Munchi_karp? Why would you ever name a Magikarp _Munchi_karp?"

"Oh, I name all my Pokémon that. _Munch_shrew, _Munch_stomp. _Munch_perior, and _Munch_lax!"

"Munchlax is the name of a Pokémon, Diamond!"

"Oh, really? It's nice to see that his name is so popular. See, people are smart when it comes to nicknaming their Pokémon!" The crowd roared with laughter and applause filled the amphitheater. Diamond and Pearl bowed before quickly heading off the stage. Nema swooped back down to the stage and waited for the crowd to settle down.

"Thank you, Diamond and Pearl. These two jokers will be joining me for commentary during the battles, so you haven't seen the last of them! Next, we have a Pichu & Friends dance accompanied by Ukulele Pichu!" Several Pichus, Sentrets, other Pokémon leapt up, earning excited squeals from the female half of the audience. One of the yellow mice stopped and cocked its head to the camera, letting out a cute, "Chuu" before joining the rest of its friends. After waiting for the noise to die down, Ukulele Pichu gave two experimental strums of his instrument before playing a fun, upbeat tune. Immediately the surrounding Pokémon began to dance, circling one another and letting out a cry whenever Ukulele Pichu paused in his strumming.

At one point, the Pokémon on the stage held hands and danced around one another before switching hands and doing the same. They passed one another through narrow windows and a few were twirled away before quickly rejoining the group dance. At one point, the Pokémon grouped together and tossed some of their friends into the air, catching them and holding still so the elevated Pokémon could regain its balance. Once each of the lifted Pokémon had steadied itself, the four Pokémon that made up the base of the tower shifted towards the other towers, slowly bringing the elevated Pokémon together.

The five raised Pokémon carefully boosted one of their members higher up—a Pichu to be exact—and held their position before triumphantly posing towards the audience. Wally stood up with the rest of his peers and clapped for the dancing Pokémon, who waved before slowly returning the elevated group members back onto the platform. They all scooted aside to show Ukulele Pichu and directed their hands towards him, earning another cheer from the crowd as they thanked the talented musician for his musical accompaniment of the dance. Ukulele Pichu waved to the audience before he and his friends scooted off the stage.

"That was adorable, don't you think?" Nema asked, finally getting off of her hovercraft and joining Diamond and Pearl on the platform.

"It was cute. Too cute," Pearl agreed, shaking his head in agreement. "So cute that I wondered if I should've invested in cuteness rather than humor."

"I'm afraid that's not your strongest point," she laughed, earning some sympathetic cries from the audience and some chuckles. "I think you should stick to comedy."

"Stick to comedy, stick to cuteness, stick to food…" Diamond trailed off, swallowing dreamily as he looked off into the distance. Pearl rolled his eyes and proceeded to push his friend off the stage just Nema waved to the laughing audience and introduced the next show—a Pokémon band.

"A Pokémon band? That could either be something really good or something _really_ bad," the person next to Wally whispered. He gave the girl a strained smile and turned his attention back to the stage. _It can't be too bad_, he tried to reassure himself. _Zenith probably liked this band so much that he thought it would be worth sharing with the rest of us._ But he couldn't deny the uneasiness that plagued his senses. Many bands often consisted of screeching Pokémon who could only hold one note and it was always the note that rubbed the wrong way. However, when he saw the Kriketunes and Galvantulas moving onto the stage, he felt his heart slow in dread.

The lights dimmed suddenly and a spotlight focused on a Kriketune with a particularly rich red shell color. Wally could almost hear the baited breath that the people around him drew as they waited for the band to start.

The first note that hit was heart-wrenching, sharp, yet tender, suddenly reminding Wally of the dramatic, high strung-notes that an electric violin could hit. Looking up, he saw one of the smaller Galvantulas bringing its arm over a curved piece of wood that was covered in small, silken strands. _Strings? _It was almost as if the electric spider had recreated the violin, a timeless instrument that could be hauntingly shrill and delightfully energetic at the same time. As he listened on to the solo, he felt his blood chill as another high note was hit

Then the chorus of Kriketunes came in. The bug Pokémon that had been singled out by the spotlight had the strongest 'voice' of all, pure and angelic as the music progressed. While the Other Kriketunes played what seemed to be the background, the main Kriketune seemed to be accompanied by the Galvantula with the lyrical piece of the piece. The other electric spiders played quietly with the other bug Pokémon, stringing together the supporting music that carried the 'lyrics' of the song.

The music suddenly faded out and Wally looked up, stunned by the sudden ending. However, the song continued on in a much softer level, slowly gaining more and more momentum before the background Kriketunes stopped and the only sound he could hear was the 'voice' of the lead bug Pokémon. The scarlet-colored Pokémon ended its song on the same, chilling note that its accompanying Galvantula began before heading off the stage with the rest of its companions.

The stunned silence that followed was expected. Wally could barely believe what had just happened. After so many failed Pokémon bands, most people sneered at the thought of one. But after this performance…Wally doubted that anyone would be able to look at Kriketunes and Galvantulas again. The song had been performed by four Kriketunes and three Galvantulas…had it been with an entire orchestra of bug Pokémon, there was no knowing what kind of effect it would have on the audience. If anything, it would change the face of Pokémon bands for all of eternity.

"Wow. That was…wow," Pearl shook his head in disbelief as he and Diamond returned to the stage. "That made me wish that I was back home with the remote in my hand. Rewind button! Play that over and over again! Wonder when it would appear on Chutube so I could show all my friends!"

"Chewtube sounds like a nice place," Diamond agreed. "Does it have good gum?" Pearl blinked blankly at his friend as Nema reappeared on stage, huffing and flushed.

"Alright, everyone! That was _Match Point_ and their newest song, 'Haunted Dreams'. It should be on Singtunes by the end of tuday, so please show your utmost support by purchasing their song! Now, for our _next_ Pokémon band—well, they're more of a drum line, aren't they?"

"Indeed!" Pearl agreed, having recovered from Diamond's misunderstanding. "They're certainly a strange group when you think about it. There are quite a few Pokémon that you wouldn't expect to work together very well in this band, and according to the creator of this tournament, Zenith Sterlight, they are quite an amazing group!"

"Well then, what are we stalling for? Here's _Two Beats 'til Sunrise_ and their amazing performance!" The three hosts scrambled offstage just as a Chimecho, three Makuhitas, one Hariyama, two Ponytas, one Mr. Mime, and two Torkoals made their entrance. The two Torkoals took their positions at the two ends of the stage as the other Pokémon slotted themselves in the spaces in between.

The two fire tortoises at the ends of the drum line took in deep breaths and blew out of their nostrils as hard as they could, mimicking the horn of a train. Immediately, the three Makuhitas began a steady beat, pounding on their stomachs to provide a base for the others to build off of. After a few counts, the Mr. Mime began clapping his hands together in alternating fashions, cupping them at some points and keeping them flat at others. When six counts passed, the Ponytas began stamping the stage, making a rhythmic beat against the wooden floor. The Chimecho in the background began to ring softly, growing in volume as each eight-count passed.

Finally, the Hariyama began to play its own belly drum, completing the drum line as it made long, solid beats against the quick, feather-light drumming of the Ponytas and Makuhitas. The Torkoals had an active role in the performance, whistling along and cueing the drummers as the performance progressed. Before long, Wally felt his heartbeat match the beat of the Makuhitas. It almost seemed as if the entire amphitheater was breathing in time with the performers.

Similarly to how unexpected the ending of the first Pokémon band performance, the drum line stopped when Wally hadn't been expecting it to. The entire crowd seemed to seize up for a moment before bursting into applause, cheering and whooping for the Pokémon that were marching proudly off the stage.

Nema, Diamond, and Pearl reappeared; Diamond distracted with a platter of rice balls and finger foods as the two other hosts welcomed the audience back from the bold, striking drum line performance. "For a split second, I thought they were echoing the heartbeats of the Earth!" Pearl declared.

"Sure seemed that way, didn't it?" Nema agreed. "Now, here's our last show of the day—the Unown chorus!"

To be honest, Wally felt as if the Unown chorus had been the weakest of the three performances, but he couldn't find it in himself to complain in the end because of how amazing each show had been in comparison to most Pokémon bands. After bringing up everyone who had performed today—including a few other comedy and other acts that Wally thought were good, but nowhere as amazing as the Pokémon bands—everyone was dismissed from the amphitheater to go and find their dormitories.

* * *

Aretha knocked twice on the dormitory door before walking inside. A blonde woman looked up from where she was unpacking her suitcase atop one of the twin beds in the room. Aretha walked over and placed her bags on the bed opposite to her roommate's and held out her hand invitingly. "Aretha," she introduced herself.

"Lukxia." The woman shook her hand firmly. "Trainer. You?"

"Contestant and trainer. Do you mind if my Pokémon stay out of their pokéballs in this room?" The blonde woman smiled at Aretha's question and pulled a luxury ball from her pocket.

"I was about to ask you to the same thing." In a flash of gold, a large, muscular Luxray shook out his mane and sniffed cautiously in Aretha's direction. The pokéball in the black-haired girl's hand twitched and burst open to reveal a sleek-furred Umbreon. "Well, I'm going to head out and explore the tournament grounds. Are you interested in joining me?"

"I'll get there in my own time," Aretha reassured her new roommate, turning her attention to her bags. "I'll focus on unpacking and settling down first." Truth be told, there wasn't much for her to unpack and she was sure that her roommate could tell that she was lying. However, the blonde woman shrugged nonchalantly and stepped toward the door.

"Suit yourself. I heard a late lunch is going to be served in the next hour, so don't miss it." Lukxia nodded once to the black-haired girl and headed out of the bedroom. Aretha began to unfold the blankets and spread them over her bed, smiling gently at her Umbreon as he leapt out of the way and sat by her feet.

"How does a walk seem, Nightshade?" The black Pokémon's ringed ears twitched once. "You'll be able to meet some other Pokémon out there. Or do you want me to bring Iridescent out with you?" The Umbreon yawned and stretched leisurely before resting his crimson eyes on his owner. "Got it." Zipping up her bags, Aretha carefully scooted them under the bed. The two of them headed out of the room and the black-haired girl waited until she heard the auto lock click behind her. The two of them walked for a few minutes in silence before Aretha let out a shaky laugh of disbelief.

"I honestly thought she was going to give me a funny look when I asked about letting you out of your pokéball," she admitted, glancing over at Nightshade. She remembered how confused and wary Wally had been when she let Arky walk around with her. It probably wasn't common for the people of Hoenn to walk around with their Pokémon, but Aretha had practically grown up being followed around by her Pokémon. "Now, let's go see if we can convince those cafeteria people to give us an early lunch. There are quite a few interesting places to see around here…"

* * *

A/N: Hey guys-this was another one of the chapters that sets you up for the tournament. I took the liberty here to toss a bunch of characters in your face, but if you check the chapter right behind chapter 6, you'll see the character guide, which I have created for all of your conveniences. It will be "updated" in a way later on in the story (it seems that I'll need a character guide/or some sort of info guide for every story I write) and have new characters included, but I doubt the older list will be added onto the new characters to follow.

Anyway, let me explain and apologize for those inconveniences. When I wrote this, I automatically assumed that everyone who would be reading this at least had played up to the fourth generation of Pokemon games and had read the first two series of the Pokemon Adventure manga. That and at least had general knowledge about the first few seasons of the Pokemon anime. Obviously, not everyone is a Pokemon fanatic like I am, so I apologize for that and I hope the character guide clears up some things for you. I won't be providing appearances, but on my guide I will list how you can look up these characters so that you get the right one and no the one that pops up first because the creators of Pokemon just love to have a ridiculous amount of counterparts.

So let's move onto reader shout-outs:

**Someone** - I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by "update schedule" because I usually have a habit of chugging out chapters every two days or so. However, with deadweek just around the corner and finals racing up to meet me...I doubt that my update time will change much. And since I don't have a beta-reader (which can be a bad thing at times), it's much easier for me to post chapters every few days. Now, I heard your concerns about the characters and they have been addressed in the beginning my A/N. As for time-skips, it's following the order in which events happen. Red and Blue talk about the tournament a few weeks after Carter sees the Shiny Raikou capture in the third chapter, then Zenith and Crimson are talking about the tournament a day or so after Red and Blue's conversation. Later on in that _same day_, Aretha is mapping out the routes Apocalypse had led her to.

If you read any of my other works, you'll see that I have a rather subtle way of introducing time skips (although looking back at chapter 3, I wasn't very obvious about the day changes. I thought I had initially added something about them talking in the morning, Crimson and Zenith in the afternoon, and Aretha at night). I am not a fan of blatantly stating "FIVE YEARS LATER" or "SEVEN MINUTES LATER", so you'll have to read a bit closely if you want to catch the small hints. There will be time skips that follow, but I will try to make them a little more obvious without actually going too far out of my writing style.

Quite simply, to answer your self-answered question, Blue, Crimson, and Zenith are all going to be fairly prominent, if not very important characters. The reason why I'm introducing them first (along with Wally and Carter, whom you met in the first few chapters) is because they'll be playing quite a large role in the story. However, as Red and Blue are considered close friends in the Pokemon Adventure manga, I only felt it was right to introduce the two of them together. I wanted you to all get to know them first so you wouldn't be overwhelmed when they really start making a mark in the story. But it seems that plan backfired because you're suddenly confused as to how many characters there are in total. As a brief explanation: there are many characters. The story revolves around Aretha but it follows many of the other characters' perspectives. Characters will be rotated in and out of the story depending on whether they are able to be present or not.

Alright, now that I've added four or five new characters to this story, I'm going to introduce them all...in the coming chapter that will really just be an informational guide. I apologize to everyone for such a long A/N and I encourage you all to R&R!


	6. The Normal Competition

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

* * *

"_Weeelll_come to the _first_ day of the two-part Hoenn Championship!" Zenith smiled fondly when he heard Nema's voice blast through the speakers. "I'm one of your three hosts—Nema! I will be providing commentary along with Diamond and Pearl on different trainer battles for the remainder of the tournament and on whatever special events our every own Zenith Sterling has funded! Now, in the next half hour, the first Pokémon competitions will begin! Remember, the categories are _toughness_, _beauty_, _coolness_, _intelligence_, and _cuteness_. Be there and support our competitors!

"Now, please enjoy your gourmet breakfasts and be sure to thank the chefs for their hard work! They've worked day and night to come up with the most balanced, healthy, and delicious dishes possible for you to enjoy and take energy from." A cheer rose from the cafeteria and the people around Zenith clapped eagerly for the cooks and the cafeteria workers. "Alright! All contest competitors, please be at the contest area within the next twenty minutes. For first-time competitors, there will be instructions given to you by the judges, but you will be required to be there within the next fifteen minutes. Please enjoy your meal but head to your stations as soon as possible. Thank you all and we hope you join us at the contests!"

"I think we made a good choice making Nema the hostess," Crimson commented as she slid into the seat across from him. "I'm surprised that there isn't a crowd of trainers rushing over here to get your autograph."

"Oh, I can feel their eyes, alright," he laughed. "I can practically feel them roasting me alive. But what makes these trainers the best of the best is that they aren't coming to ask for my attention. No—they want to _catch_ my attention and that's the best way to go." A smile quirked the lips of his childhood friend as he leaned forward and interlaced his fingers, studying the crowds before him.

"Well Mr. Dark and Mysterious, no need to look like a predator on the prowl," Carter tutted, sauntering over with an overdramatic swing of his hips. Crimson threw her head back and laughed as Zenith straightened up and shot him an amused look.

"I'm sure you caught his attention without actually being a trainer," the ranger teased.

"Please, Crimson, implying that I'm interested in someone diminishes my bachelor status," Zenith sighed.

"You are aware that bachelor is another word for a gay man—under the impression that he'll never marry, right?" Felix pointed out, seating himself next to the seat Carter had claimed. "Well, at least that's the historical meaning."

"Love is love," Zenith declared, checking the time. "And I am not one to determine it's purposes. Nor am I one to be late to the Pokémon competitions."

"You're competing?" Carter spluttered. "In a Pokémon competition?" With a little more seriousness, he asked, "do you even _know_ how to compete?"

"Carter!" The Hoenn Champion reprimanded half-heartedly, rising from his seat. "I used to be the Hoenn Beauty Contest Champion!"

"And of all contests—beauty?"

"Please, Carter, don't say anything until you see his Cosmic take the stage," May sighed, heading over with her tray. "The two of them could easily take the world by storm with their show. Although," she grinned wolfishly, "Sceptile and I are quite a pair in the _Cool_ category."

"Well, you might want to get eating then," Zenith urged, tossing a smile over his shoulder. "You don't want to miss the chance to scope the competition yourself."

* * *

A Pokémon contest. Aretha fidgeted with the cuffs of her crisp white blouse and gave Tramp a nervous smile. Despite it being his first time on stage, the Mightyena carried himself as if he had been competing for all of his four years of living. Giving off an aloof, almost calm aura, he pressed his muzzle reassuringly into her shoulder. One touch seemed to take most of the pressure off of his trainer and she smiled beautifully at him just as eight judges walked into the room.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Kristo Delano and I will be the master judge for the tournaments. Here stands before you the head judges who will be in charge of the other judges who will be responsible for choosing the winners from these contests. I understand that for some of you, this will be your first competition. Do not fear, the competition is simple in execution, but be expected to be judged to the very limits of your abilities. The first part of our competition will be more traditional to the original contests. Your Pokémon will be examined for stylistic and appearance traits that contribute to their points. Then they will be allowed to perform a few moves and other appeals for a maximum of ninety seconds before we move onto the battle aspect of the contests.

"You will be randomly paired with someone from your category and you will be required to battle for five minutes. You will lose points if your Pokémon are hit by the opponent's moves, if one of your attacks fails to execute properly, and if you show poor conduct during these battle rounds. You will be judged on how these moves are made and how strategic your choices are. Now, those are the basic guidelines to the contests. The competitions at hand will begin in approximately seven minutes. Please do whatever is appropriately necessary for you to prepare for the judging to come. Good luck, and please do your best to appeal to the audience. They will have the ability to override a judge's vote."

* * *

"…Next we have Gardevoir and her owner, Walter Billet." A murmur of surprise rose amongst the audience and Zenith craned his neck slightly to catch a glimpse of the Pokémon everyone was interested in. Although the green-and-white Pokémon was most definitely graceful and beautiful, it was often placed in the _smart_ category of contests. Her owner, a limber and powerful-looking man, smiled approvingly at the audience's reaction and his Gardevoir curtseyed prettily.

"After that, we have Cosmic the Ninetails and her owner, Zenith Sterlight." The named man smiled out into the crowd as Cosmic carefully arched her neck and winded delicately around his legs. There was a sharp intake of breath as she casually stretched in front of the crowd, flexing her muscles under her silky cream coat. The earlier Pokémon and their trainers looked a bit uncomfortable at the ease that Cosmic carried in her every step. Zenith smiled slightly as she returned to him, pressing her nose gently against his arm before seating herself beside him. Perhaps next time, the novices would learn that contest beauty was a form of controlled and channeled energy rather than a happy, let's-run-around-and-smile-for-the-camera sort of event. _It would be much more fitting for them to compete in the cuteness category_, Zenith thought to himself as the last few contestants were introduced to the crowd.

"And now, for appeals! Please wait for your name and prepare yourselves to give the judges and your audience a taste of your Pokémon's beauty!" Zenith watched the people before him from the corner of his eye as they performed their moves. It was unwise to use all the moves, as it could provide some advantages for the opponents when they faced you in the battle portion of the competition. He watched as the Gardevoir place her hands out in front of her and create a psybeam that rose up to the ceiling and shattered into a million sparkling pieces. As he watched the twinkling reminents of the Pokémon move dance around him, a small smile crossed his face. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

_Cosmic would probably lose in appeals this time_, he thought, glancing over at his Ninetails, who was fluffing up her coat and allowing the sparkles to cover her fur. _But I'm sure we'll do just fine in the battling area. After all_, he thought pleasantly, _she's more of a fighter anyway._ "Zenith Sterlight!"

Throwing a hand up in the air, he pointed towards the ceiling. "Fire spin!" Beside him, Cosmic disappeared into a cream and red blur. "Flamethrower!" Suddenly, she leapt up into the air and Zenith felt a brief moment of shock. This wasn't part of their routine. However, he would have to trust Cosmic every step of the way. The Ninetails shook out her fur, freeing the glittering pieces of the earlier Gardevoir's psybeam from her coat. As they flickered back down, carefully spun into a stream by Cosmic's winding fire spin, the fire fox lifted her head and pointed her muzzle at the falling pieces. Catching on quickly, Zenith gave out the next command; "Flamethrower!"

A stream of fire burst form Cosmic's mouth and filled the empty spaces between the sparkling pieces. Before long, the fire that had remained from her fire spin merged with the flamethrower and dissolved in a burst of light. The Ninetails gave a satisfied noise and flicked her tails triumphantly before gliding over to where Zenith was waiting. Smiling, he stroked her fur, running his fingers through her silky coat. _Or maybe we'll win this one_, he thought, glancing up and reading the awestruck expressions on the judges' faces.

* * *

"Hey! Is this your first contest?" Startled, Aretha jumped slightly and whirled around to see a brunette holding her hand up in greeting. "Oops. Did I scare you? Sorry!"

"No, it's alright," the black-haired girl reassured her. "But yes, this is my first contest."

"I see. Don't worry about it too much—it's a lot easier when you're actually up there performing," the brunette told her. "I'm May, by the way. And this is Sceptile."

"Aretha," the black-haired girl nodded over to her Mightyena. "Tramp."

"Alright! Well, since we're next to each other in line, there's quite a big chance that we'll be paired up together for the battle portion of this contest!"

"I thought they said it was random."

"It is in the higher-up contests, but it's easier for them to pair off people in the very beginning." May smiled kindly. "Don't worry about it, you'll do just fine. Just try to keep up, okay?" She teased just as the head judge began introducing the various competitors and their Pokémon. Steadying herself onto her tip-toes, Aretha watched as everyone looked confidently out into the crowd, some even posing with their Pokémon to gain a little more attention than the person before them. May was called next and she waved to the audience as her Sceptile crossed his arms and chewed smugly on the twig in his mouth.

May winked at her when Aretha's name was called and the black-haired plastered a confident smile on her face. Beside her, Tramp flicked his tail and raked over the crowd with his scarlet eyes.

_Battling was easy enough_, Aretha thought helplessly as the judges returned to the front of the line. _It's just like training the others at home._ Although she had been a bit surprised by how Roxanne had waited for her to attack back in Rustboro, she found that her usual battling tactics worked just fine against the gym leader. "Aretha Redwing!" Startled, she bumped into Tramp, who stiffened at the contact. However, he walked forward as if nothing had happened, turning around in circles and flexing his muscles underneath his rippling coat. Looking at the judges' faces, Aretha felt a twinge of embarrassment at the confusion and exasperation in their eyes. It seemed that they wouldn't win appeals.

"Now that the appeals are finished, let's move onto the battle pairs! Helen Lanette with Nikko Stronghold! Mary Wielder with Stevie Blue! May Birch with Aretha Redwing! Terrace West with Viktoria Larkson! Now, each battle will not succeed the limit of five minutes and points will be given or lost depending on the execution of the Pokémon moves and how the opponents react to those attacks. First, we'll have Helen and Nikko battle!" A red-haired man stepped forward with his Garchomp and a blue eyed woman took the opposite stage with her Staraptor. The rest of the competitors stepped aside and May inched closer to Aretha and nodded toward the battle area.

"Do you see how every time that Staraptor takes a hit, his points don't reduce?" The black haired girl nodded. "well, they'll only reduce if he gets hit repeatedly and seems to be overwhelmed. They'll also be lost if he tries to execute a move but it doesn't execute properly. For example, say someone tries to use Solarbeam, but they're distracted and the cannon misfires. Or if a Pokémon is trying to use Take Down and ends up tripping over its own feet. Believe me, it's happened before," May whispered when Aretha chuckled at the mental image forming in her head. "But when their moves hit or they manage to execute their move and make themselves look 'cool', they'll be able to win some points."

"Thank you, Helen and Nikko. Now for our next pair, Mary and Stevie!" The announcer declared. May gave Aretha an excited smile and rocked from side to side.

"It's been a while since I've competed on such a large scale contest," the brunette told her. "I've been helping my dad out in the field for quite a bit. Do you know him? Professor Birch?"

"No, but then again, I don't know many people," Aretha admitted.

"Hmm. He's not _as_ popular as Professor Oak. You at least know him, right?"

"No?" May's jaw dropped and Aretha braced herself for a yell.

"_What?_" The word came out hissed, obviously restrained as the brunette tried to keep herself quiet. "You haven't heard of Professor Oak—_the_ Professor of _all_ Professors?"

"I'm sorry?" Aretha tried again.

"You, missy, are going to sit down and have a nice, educational talk with me once this is all over," May muttered just as the announcer called their names. "But we'll have to deal with this contest first. Go easy on me?"

"Got it," Aretha muttered half-heartedly just as the two of them parted and headed to opposite ends of the stage. Well, at least she wouldn't be too bad at the battles.

"Begin!" Immediately, May whirled into action.

"Leaf Blade!" Her Sceptile leapt at Tramp and Aretha suddenly felt time slow down as the grass Pokémon approached her Mightyena. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, almost feeling the seconds pass over her skin. _Breathe,_ she thought. Immediately, she envisioned a limber, brown-haired man with a cream-colored Pokémon purring at his side. A few steps behind him, a man in a lab coat and a rather humanoid purple-and-white Pokémon lifted three fingers up at her. When she opened them again, Tramp was standing over the Sceptile, holding the opposing Pokémon's arm between his teeth. Around them, excited murmurs rose from the crowd.

"What is her Mightyena doing?"

"I've never seen a Pokémon do that!"

"Are Mightyena even that fast?" Memories flickered through Aretha's eyes—images of Tramp pulling weights across a field, sprinting up and down the hill, participating in races with Pokémon several times faster than himself…His muscles already remembered the strain, the pain, and the burning that came with limit-breaking exercises that were made for Pokémon far more powerful than him, far faster than him, because in the end he was ranked as a good Pokémon at best.

The only reason why he stood here, on this stage today, was because the trainer he served had gone through the same, hellish training because at best, she was ranked as a half-rate human. "Sucker Punch." The Sceptile was knocked to the side with one hard blow, and he went skidding along the stage as Tramp advanced. "Shadow Ball." They came in succession—surrounding the grass Pokémon but never really hitting him. Instead, they all landed within inches of him, disintegrating into black mist, each strand teasing at the Sceptile's face.

"Sceptile! Bullet Seed!"

"Tramp." _Listen to me_, Aretha willed._ To nothing but my voice._

_Of course_. The Mightyena leaped forward, dodging each round of seeds as they were fired at him. In a flash of silver and black, Tramp pounced, hitting the Sceptile square in the chest and locking his jaws around the Pokémon's arm. Lifting the Sceptile that was at least thirty pounds heavier than himself, the Mightyena threw the grass Pokémon into the air, jumping after it just as he had after the Shadow Ball in the appeals portion of the competition. _The finishing blow?_

"Iron tail." Tramp brought his tail down in a flash of white, sending May's Sceptile into the ground as he leapt to the side, unharmed and as aloof as ever. Aretha could feel the stares of the audience burning into the back of her skin as her Mightyena strutted toward her, head and tail raised high.

"That was…unexpected!" The announcer laughed nervously as May ran over to her Sceptile. Aretha took a hesitant step forward, but relaxed when the grass Pokémon arose to his feet and headed towards the sidelines. "Alright, moving on with Terrace and Viktoria!" Once dismissed, the black-haired girl headed over to where the brunette was looking over her Sceptile.

"That was quite an amazing match," May laughed, her blue eyes twinkling with interest. "You're a much better trainer than I initially thought."

"He's not too hurt, is he?" Aretha ignored her, reaching a hand out to the brunette's Sceptile. Alarmed, May thrust her arm out.

"Don't! He's not a friendly—" she stared as her Pokémon nuzzled the palm offered to him. "—Pokémon," she finished helplessly. "Wow. Well, that's a first for Sceptile. You must have a really deep connection with Pokémon," she commented.

Aretha's eyes flashed red for a second and she turned her face away from May. "You could say that," she whispered into Sceptile's neck. The brunette faltered slightly and Aretha absentmindedly patted the grass Pokémon's shoulder. "Most Pokémon feel at ease around me," she said, "because I grew up breeding them. I've worked with all kinds of Pokémon, so most of them I come across are docile. I guess they can tell that I have a background with treating Pokémon." May eased slightly and smiled at Aretha, who patted Sceptile twice on his muzzle and stepped away. Just as the brunette opened her mouth to speak with the black-haired girl, the announcer called out to everyone.

"Alright! It seems that our battles have finished! Now, can every person and their Pokémon _please_ line up before our panel of judges as they meet together and determine the three competitors who will move onto the Super Contests that will be held tomorrow? The results will be with you in a few minutes!" Aretha cast a glance at Tramp and he flicked his tail indifferently, obviously as unsure of the results as she was. _I wonder if a battle suffices_, she though with a sigh, watching the judges as they crowded around each one another. _I doubt it, though._

May glanced over at her and took her sigh as a sign of fear. Smiling reassuringly, the brunette took Aretha's hand and squeezed it once. The black-haired girl stiffened slightly and took in a sharp breath. Once again, the blue-eyed girl squeezed the younger trainer's hand and Aretha gave May a tight smile. _Friendly_, the chestnut-eyed girl noted mentally. When she tried to pull away slightly from the brunette, the hand around hers tightened slightly. Wincing, Aretha turned back to the judges. _Very friendly_.

"Alright! Let's see the results of the appeals!" Several bars were projected onto a hanging screen behind the judges and Aretha drew a shaky breath when she saw how low her score had been. "And now for the first battle!" Two of the bars increased significantly from their original rank. "The second!" The same results. "Third!" Aretha's rank boosted until she was about the same as the other ranks but she felt her spirits fall slightly when she fell behind in points. "And finally, the fourth. Now, many of the scores are very close, so the judges decided to come other and decide which competitors would move onto the Super Contest. Now, I have the name of the three who will be going on.

"The first competitor to move on will be May Birch." Beside Aretha, the brunette smiled easily, as if she had been expecting to move on. "Next, Terrace West." The blonde man who had been one of the last battlers raised a fist in triumph. "The last competitor who will be competing in the Super Contest and will be competing tomorrow is…" The air around Aretha and the others tensed suddenly and the black-haired girl shivered as all the other remaining contestants leaned forward slightly in anticipation. Aretha closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath. _Please_, she thought. _Please_.

Losing this competition would not be the end of her interest in contests. However, it would be much more difficult to compete with Tramp again if she lost this round. After all, she didn't have the confidence of a practiced contestant. Her Mightyena stepped closer to her and pressed himself into her side, his head bumping into her shoulder. She leaned against them as they waited for the next name to be spoken. "…Aretha Redwing! Congratulations, you three will be moving onto the Super Contests! We will see you tomorrow!"

* * *

The day closed as expected—the champions of the different regions won the highest scores in each of their battle areas. For the gauntlet challenge, Aretha withdrew to her room and ignored the few challenges that were sent to her by random trainers who happened to see how close their battle points were compared to hers. She stroked Nightshade's fur absentmindedly, smiling to herself as the moonlight Pokémon purred against her chest. Giggling when the black-and-yellow Pokémon's pelt tickled her nose, Aretha pressed a kiss to the Umbreon's forehead and sighed.

"Today was a good day," she murmured. "Tramp was able to move onto the Super Contest for the cool condition. Arky and the others were able to battle it out, and we managed to escape all the trainers who want to keep us awake all night." Nightshade yawned and nuzzled his cheek against her jaw. "Are you interested in competing tomorrow night? I know you weren't feeling up to it today." The Umbreon blinked his large crimson eyes at her and she smiled at him, burying her nose into his sleek fur. "Why don't you want to battle? You loved to battle back at the ranch." His ears twitched and he head-butted her chin. "Taking a break, for now? I'm sure that the others want to double battle with you as soon as possible."

"Bree," he complained, nestling into the crook of her neck.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sleep. Sleep first." Pressing a kiss to the Umbreon's temple, Aretha pulled the blanket over her chest, keeping both their heads out as they drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

A dark figure stood in the room, studying the girl and her Umbreon. _Such a calm face_, the shadow thought, ghosting a fingertip over Aretha's cheek. _So innocent. So naïve. So unawares of the dangers to follow._ A maniacal smile crossed over the shadowed face, a gleam of white splitting the dark into two. _Fun, fun…how fun it truly will be…_the figure thought, heading over to the open windows and swinging its legs over the ledge just as footsteps approached the door. _To break them all. To rise, to rise!_ The figure set down a small bundle of violet flowers and took off into the night, leaving billowing curtains and windows wide open.

The door was carefully unlocked and a blonde woman walked in, her Luxray following close behind her. Turning on the lights on her side of the room, Lukxia glanced over at the sleeping girl and smiled fondly at her. _As expected_, she thought, arranging a pile of blankets as a makeshift bed for her electric Pokémon, _children can't stay awake for too long. _Shivering at the blast of cold air, the trainer frowned at the open window. "Sleeping with the windows open, huh?" She commented disapprovingly, shutting the panes. She shook her head at her Luxray, who was watching her leisurely from his bed. "Children. Never can take care of themselves, can they?"

With a smile, she picked up the violet flowers and wrapped them in a tissue before resting them by her roommate's pillow. Scribbling a few words on a scrap of paper, she tucked it under the flowers and shook out her hair as she headed over to her bed. "Perhaps the most beautiful of flowers is also the one with the most poisonous bite." Her Luxray flicked his tail once and rested his head onto his paws as his owner flipped the light switch off.

* * *

A/N: Hooray! Actually, today should be the last time that I actually upload a chapter after putting up two the day before. I just so happened to be a chapter ahead of the last chapter I posted, but I felt like it was about time that I would actually post something when I had something to post as opposed to holding it out. I hope all of you found the character guide a little more on the helpful side and...

Hope all of you continue reading this story and please R&R!


	7. Character Guide 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN-Dammit, do I really need a disclaimer on a freaking character guide? Ah, I'll do it anyway. -POKEMON.

So, I forgot to mention something earlier on, but Aretha's name IS a real name! You can look it up if you want, but it'll be a spoiler for the later chapters...but I have a feeling that instead of making you less willing to look it up, you're actually going to try to deduce who she may be. We'll see-after all, characters change if the creators want them to. Even if it breaks the plotline they already have planned. Teehee.

Anyway, here's the guide for searching each character.

For name-changed characters, please add (game) in parentheses after their original names when you search them on bulbapedia (one of the best websites EVER) or on Google/whatever search engine you use. So for instance, if I was looking for Carter's appearance, I would search "Ethan (game)". Here are the list of characters that you need to add (game) to: **Carter**, **Felix**, **Zenith,** and **Summer.** These _should_ be the only characters with changed names.

For the characters whose names haven't changed, just type in their name and then "Pokemon" after them. These are the unchanged names that will not require much research: **Ben** and **Nema.**

When searching for **May,** please add "(game)" after her because she is based off of the game rather than the anime.

When searching for **Wally,** please add "(game)" after his name because he is not based off of the Wally from the Pokemon adventures.

When searching for **Pearl** and **Diamond,** please add "(adventures)" after them because they are based off of the Pearl and Diamond that are in the adventures manga.

When searching for **Blue** and **Red,** please add "(game)" to see the teams that they will use, but if you want a bit of insight to their characters, please add "(adventures)" after their names. Blue's character is loosely tied to his Pokemon adventures character, so don't read too carefully on him.

When searching for **Crystal, Silver,** and **Emerald,** please add "(adventures)" after their names because they are based off of the characters from the adventures manga.

* * *

**Main/Major Supporting Characters**

Aretha – An OC (original character). As she is the only main major original character right now, I will give you her description. She has straight black hair, hooded dark chestnut eyes that flash red from time to time depending on her emotions. They will also turn a clear, light auburn when in direct sunlight or if she is particularly focused on something. Standing at 5'2", she's shorter than average and has a particularly stocky body. You could say that she has the endomorph body type. A very family-and-friend-centric person

Carter – The name-changed **"Ethan"** from the Gold/Silver/Crystal trilogy and HeartGold/SoulSilver remakes. My rendition of him—or at least how I pictured he would be like when I played as his sprite in HeartGold. "Champion" of the joint Johto and Kanto league, but then again, the static champion (the person who is _still_ Champion regardless of how many times you beat him/her) is always Lance for Johto and Kanto. Best friends with Zenith and Felix, close friends with Wally.

Felix – The name-changed **"Lucas"** from the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum trilogy. My rendition of him—or at least how I pictured he would be like when I played as his sprite in Platinum. "Champion" of the Sinnoh league, but as you all know, the static champion is always Cynthia for Sinnoh. Best friends with Zenith and Carter.

Zenith – The name-changed **"Brandon"** from Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald trilogy. My rendition of him—or at least how I pictured he would be like when I played as his sprite in Emerald and Sapphire. "Champion" of the Hoenn league, but Wallace stands as the "static champion" for Hoenn. Childhood friends with Crimson, best friends with Zenith, Carter, and Wally. Well-acquainted with Nema and Ben.

Crimson – The name-changed **"Summer"** from Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. My rendition of her—at least how I pictured her to be like when I played her sprite in the game she's featured in. If you've read my other story "GS: If Divided, All Will Fall", you'll get quite a lot of background with her, but please note that this is a DISCONNECTED story. There are some parallels, but not everything is the same. Childhood friends with Zenith, dating Ben. Friends with Carter and Felix, best friends with Nema.

Blue – Viridian City gym leader from HeartGold/SoulSilver and Crystal/Gold/Silver. In the first generation, he played as the rival. His personality is taken as bits and pieces from the anime (Gary Oak, who is his counterpart), manga, and game. His appearance is pretty much unchanged, so a brunet with green eyes. I understand that many people call him Green, but the games, Bulbapedia, Serebii, and the Pokémon Adventures manga all call him **Blue**. Therefore, his name will be Blue in this story.

Wally – Unchanged rival character from the Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald trilogy. My rendition of him—or at least the vibe that I got from him while playing through Emerald and Sapphire as Zenith. He is _NOT_ based off of the Pokémon Adventures manga, so sorry to disappoint.

**Main Pokémon**

Apocalypse – Aretha's Absol that disappeared several over half a year ago. He appears from time to time to lead his owner from place to place. His motives are still unclear. Average height, moveset unknown.

Tramp – Aretha's Mightyena who has been with her for four years. He was left behind by his sire's owner because he was the smallest egg of the litter. Like Arky, he stands taller than most Mightyenas and is about 4'5" (over a foot taller than most Mightyena. Honestly, this size makes more sense to me than the 3'3"). The known moveset (which consists of moves performed so far) is Shadow Ball, Iron Tail, and Sucker Punch.

Arky – Aretha's Arcanine, who has been with her for six years. She was abandoned by her family because she was the smallest egg of the litter. She stands taller than most Arcanines and is about 6'5" (two inches taller than most Arcanines). Moveset is still unknown.

Paladin – Aretha's Dragonite, who has been with her for six years. He was a gift from her father and is shorter than most Dragonites. He stands at about 6'7" (where most Dragonites are 7'3") and the only performed move so far has been Fly.

Nightshade – Aretha's Umbreon, who has been with her for two years. She found him when he was an Eevee and he stands at the average height of most Umbreons (3'3"). (Okay, what really doesn't make sense to me is how an Umbreon is _the same height_ as a freaking Mightyena. There's something SERIOUSLY wrong with that picture.). Moveset is still unknown.

**Minor Characters**

Ben – Unchanged male supporting character from Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. I changed bits of his original personality (or at least, what personality he had, no offense). Currently dating Crimson, friends with Nema. Will be mentioned and maybe featured along with a few other ranger friends who will be introduced in later guides.

Nema – Unchanged female supporting character from Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. An inventor—I did whatever I could to keep her personality the same. Best friends with Crimson. For her background with Crimson—read my other story.

Red – Main protagonist from the first two game generations and eventual reappearance in the remade HeartGold/SoulSilver games. His appearance is based off of the Pokémon Adventures manga's "Red", so he has black hair and red eyes. His character is also based off of the Adventures manga's "Red", since you barely learn anything about him in HeartGold/SoulSilver and Crystal/Gold/Silver.

Pearl - Unchanged male supporting character from the Pokemon Adventures manga. He and Diamond are a comedy duo and are co-hosting the tournament with Nema.

Diamond - Unchanged male supporting character from the Pokemon Adventures manga.

**Soon to be mentioned characters that may/may not have a large role in the story:**

May – Unchanged character from the Emerald/Sapphire/Ruby games. I pretty much mixed her personality from the anime and the games together and put in a dash of her counterpart, Sapphire from the Pokémon Adventures manga, in there as well. Honestly, since she's not as much of a fighter as the other trainers are, she won't have much of a role here.

Crystal – Unchanged character from the Pokémon Adventures manga. I doubt she will play a large role in this story.

Silver – Unchanged character from Pokémon Adventures manga. His character _is_ based off of the Silver in the manga, so don't flip out when he doesn't act like the Silver from the HeartGold/SoulSilver and Gold/Silver/Crystal games. Probably going to have a very small role as well.

Emerald – Unchanged character from Pokémon Adventures manga. Probably will be briefly mentioned, but MOST DEFINITELY NOT be a returning character.

Luxkia – OC in the dark. More will be revealed of her as the story continues.

Xeno – One of Aretha's close friends who lives back at the rural daycare center/breeding ranch that her dad somewhat runs. More will be revealed about him as the story continues.

Link – One of Aretha's cousins who lives with Aretha's family. More will be revealed about her as the story continues.

Frank – Aretha's father. Comic book artist-hopeful and owner of the daycare/breeding ranch Aretha was raised in. More will be revealed about him as the story continues.

Tiffany – Aretha's mother. Salarywoman who spends most of her time away in the city so it's more convenient for her to get to work. More will be revealed about her as the story continues.


	8. The Queen of Poisons

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

**BIG NOTE:**(Yes, it's bolded and underlined, so it's REALLY BIG) I've created a document that gives you the tournament schedule and I'll be uploading it onto my DeviantArt account (there's a link on my profile, but I may just post the link on the next A/N) with the next chapter. In the meantime, please don't let the tournament schedule get in the way of your reading and just enjoy it all the way through!

* * *

Warmth. Aretha felt the tenderness of a gentle hand stroke her face as she grew more aware of her surroundings and her blanket of sleep was gently pulled off of her. A soft kiss was pressed to her forehead and she stirred again, a small smile flitting onto her lips. _Good morning, Aretha. Breakfast is going to be in a bit._

"Link," she breathed, slowly opening her eyes. Instead of seeing the black-haired woman with tawny eyes, she found herself gazing into her Umbreon's crimson eyes. He sniffed her curiously and nuzzled her chin when she blinked at him. "Nightshade? Is it morning already?" The moonlight Pokémon leapt off of her and kneaded the ground underneath him as she sat up slightly and glanced at the clock. _Six fifty_, she noted sleepily. _Right, Nightshade and I usually start training around seven twenty._ "We're not back at the ranch anymore," she yawned, shaking her head fondly at him. "But we can go out of if you want us to." The Umbreon cocked his head to the side and twitched one of his ringed ears, as if to say "obviously".

"Yes, yes." Aretha rolled her eyes and got out of bed, grimacing when she realized that she hadn't changed out of her clothes from yesterday. Hopefully the judges wouldn't look down on her if she showed up in somewhat wrinkled clothes. _I should've brought more than one pair of dress pants and more than one blouse_, she thought distastefully. Suddenly remembering how casually the other trainers had dressed, Aretha began to change out of her stuffy business clothes. _It's the Cool Condition, so I must've looked like an idiot to be wearing fancy clothes. Should've had something cooler—something more relaxed…_Pausing, Aretha lifted a red scarf from her bag and smoothed her thumb over the material. _Are scarves cool?_

"Bree," Nightshade reminded her, sitting down with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, hastily pulling out a collared black t-shirt, a white camisole, and a pair of dark blue jeans. "Hurry up. I got it." Scrambling into her clothes to appease the black-and-yellow Pokémon, Aretha wondered if May would know if there was a place where she could get her clothes ironed. She would have to ask the brunette after today's Hyper Contest. As she moved to stuff her clothes into her messenger bag, she winced as she remembered how May had dragged her aside and given her a two hour long lecture about Professor Oak while touching on a few of the other renowned Pokémon professors. But seeing that the brunette was at ease with the atmosphere of the competition, Aretha felt like she would be the best person to go to with questions for now.

"Alright, let's—" Aretha broke off and stared at the purple flowers that were wrapped in a tissue. She picked up the bundle carefully, examining the blossoms with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Wolfsbane," she whispered, fingering the waxy petals. "The Queen of Poisons." A stab of rage ran through her. What if Nightshade eaten the flowers out of boredom while she had slept? She crushed the flowers in the tissue and ran over to the window, throwing the ball as far as she could. Shaking her head, she returned to her beside, trying to see if any of the flowers had been left behind on her nightstand.

Instead, she found a small note with crisp, tiny handwriting on it. _"This was left for you by the window-side. Admirer? –Lukxia"_. Lukxia. Her roommate. Aretha whirled around and quickly identified the lump underneath the bed across the room as the blonde woman she had met yesterday. Feeling a wave of embarrassment rise, she crumpled the note in her fist. She had forgotten that she had a roommate. At the same time that she was worrying that she had accidentally awaken Lukxia with her talking, a myriad of questions rushed through her head. Had the flowers truly been left for her? When she walked over to the windowsill, there hadn't been any sign of a note being left behind. How could she be sure that Lukxia hadn't actually been lying and pretended that someone else had left the flowers when it had really been her?

Casting a suspicious glance in her roommate's direction, she was startled when she saw golden eyes staring back at her. Lukxia's Luxray watched her with his piercing stare, flicking his tail from side to side. Swallowing nervously, Aretha motioned for Nightshade to follow her and hastily left the bedroom. Once they were out in the safety of the hallway, the black-haired girl felt her head go on overdrive. Who left those flowers for her? Had it been an innocent offering of someone who didn't know the true toxicity of that plant?

Aretha's blood chilled when she remembered when a travelling trainer had stopped by their ranch to stay the night. He had joined her that evening in the backyard to watch his Ponyta run around the space that was presented to her. She had chatted animatedly with him until she heard the chilling shriek of her father's Blissey fill the air. The two of them had rushed over to the scene immediately and Aretha sent the happiness Pokémon to search for her father. The trainer's Ponyta had accidentally eaten a Wolfsbane flower and had been going through the first stages of muscle paralysis.

They had nearly lost that Ponyta that night, but luckily they were able to deliver the fire Pokémon to the Pokémon center before its diaphragm stopped working. The trainer had filed a lawsuit a few weeks later and after a month or two of struggling in the courts, Aretha and her father had somehow managed to win the case. After that, they had taken special care in weeding out any possible poisonous plants in their backyard and Aretha took a botany course in order to avoid any future problems with toxic plants.

It wouldn't have been difficult for someone to confuse Wolfsbane blossoms with any other harmless flower, but Aretha couldn't fight off the uncomfortable feeling at the back of her head. There _had _to be some hidden meaning behind those flowers. A threat. She mentally thanked her father for putting Nightshade on a strict meat and fruit diet. Otherwise, there was no knowing whether he would've been the next victim of the purple flowers.

"Bree!" Snapping back into reality, Aretha quickly took in her surroundings before checking her tournament Pokéapp to see exactly where she had ended up. _You are currently located in the trainer-hangout area, also known as the main courtyard of this tournament. To your left is the Kanto Stadium, to its side is the Johto Stadium, and to your north is the Hoenn Stadium. To its right is the Unova Stadium and the stadium to your left is the Kalos Stadium. Behind you are…_Sighing, Aretha closed the app and pulled out a black and gold Pokéball. Flicking the ball into the air, the capsule burst open and a black-and-silver Pokémon leapt out.

"Morning, Tramp." The bite Pokémon shook out his fur and flicked his tail excitedly. _No time to worry about those flowers_, Aretha scolded herself as Nightshade touched his nose to Tramp's. _Your first priority should be training and preparing for the contest._ "Alright, two laps around the perimeter of the stadiums and this courtyard." The two of them took off and Aretha pulled out two more Pokéballs, releasing her Leafeon and Arcanine into the crisp morning air. "Why don't you two warm up and get ready to train with them when they get back?" The two Pokémon nodded and began stretching in preparation for the exercise to come.

Once the two black Pokémon returned to the clearing, they began sparring with the Leafeon and Arcanine immediately. Aretha watched from the side, calling out commands whenever she felt one of the two pairs were slowing down with their workout. "Nightshade! Be more fluid with your movements. Don't aim for the vital areas, Arky." Each Pokémon adjusted his or her own fighting style and continued to attack one another without using moves. Aretha watched them for a few more minutes before clapping her hands twice, ending the sparring session.

"Tramp, you're up as the target first. Try not to get hit, alright?" The Mightyena was off in a flash, sprinting to the far end of the courtyard. "Alright Thistle, let's see how accurate your Bullet Seeds are." The Leafeon stepped forward, keeping his gaze trained on Tramp as he leaned forward in anticipation. "Bullet Seed!" A stream of seeds were sent out and the bite Pokémon at the far end of the clearing scrambled from side to side to avoid the spray. A few of them hit the Mightyena, but he managed to dodge most of them without sustaining too much damage.

_Tramp's getting faster_, Aretha noted thoughtfully. _If I remember correctly, Thistle's shooting speed hasn't increased since last time._ The Leafeon seemed somewhat frustrated by the few seeds that had actually hit his target. _But he's already one of the fastest move executors on the ranch._

"_As long as you execute the move faster than your opponent, you've already won half the battle,"_ Ahh, how long had it been since she last trained with that man from her memories? It must've already been years._ We'll just have to work on accuracy, then,_ Aretha decided, throwing an arm up and stopping the target practice. "Alright Thistle, switch with Tramp. Nightshade, you're aiming." The Umbreon stepped forward as the Leafeon swapped places with the Mightyena.

The target practice continued on until the Pokémon had finished a complete rotation. By then it was already 7:45 and the courtyard wasn't as empty as it had been twenty minutes ago. Quickly returning her Pokémon to their respectable pokéballs, Aretha ignored the curious looks she received from passing trainers and followed the directions of her Pokéapp to the cafeteria. Many of the seats were already filled up by the time that she arrived and she sighed when there were no empty tables left. _Pokémon are our equals_, she thought as she headed into the already-forming breakfast line, _but there is a limited number of seats in this cafeteria and I doubt that your Pokémon would be insulted if you didn't let them sit in a chair._

* * *

"Congratulations!" May slapped Aretha on the back and the black-haired girl yelped at the sudden action. "You moved onto the hyper contests!"

"I should say the same to you," she told the brunette as the two of them walked away from the contest area. "It was a close score."

"Well, you might want to work on your appeals a little more before you consider us equals," the blue-eyed woman teased. Aretha gave her a small smile as she remembered how she hadn't frozen up in front of the judges like she had yesterday. Tramp had managed to execute a move…only he somehow managed to be distracted by something and his Shadow Ball crashed into the contest sign that stood right next to the judges' table. After a glare from the head judge, the black-haired girl had to endure another round of critical and skeptical whispers from the crowd. Like last time, she managed to redeem herself in the battle round. However, there was a small chance that she would be able to pass onto the Master Contests with just her battling skills. "Anyway, how does lunch sound right now? Our contest started late."

"It sounds nice," Aretha agreed, allowing the brunette to steer her toward the direction of the cafeteria. "Have you been battling outside of contests?"

"Oh, a little," May replied, scooting into the growing lunch line. "But not really competitive battling. I'm much more of a contest trainer. But one of my closest friends is a battler. Maybe you'll face him if you win consecutive battles—which I'm sure is easy, for a trainer like you," the brunette added on hastily.

"Maybe." There had been times when her Pokémon got too antsy or arrogant in a battle. They usually led to a rather embarrassing knockout from the opponent and disadvantageous switches to the next Pokémon. The battles she won were all individual trainer battles and for some reason, she was paired up with a sloppy trainer during yesterday's double battle. Unfortunately, these crushing double-battle defeats did little to boost the score she received from the individual battles. _Hopefully I'll get someone better this time_, Aretha thought as she mechanically thanked the cafeteria workers as they loaded her plate with food.

She hadn't been aware that May was staring at her until the two of them had situated themselves at an empty table. "What?"

"Are you really going to eat all of that?" Aretha winced at the disbelief in the brunette's voice and glanced down guiltily at the food on her plate. There was a steaming bowl of clam chowder, one dinner roll, one diagonally sliced cream-cheese-and-cucumber sandwich, and a fruit tart sitting on her tray.

"I have a big appetite," she said, "and a sweet tooth," she added when May looked at the large fruit tart. "You can have half of it if you want," she offered, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"No, it's alright; I'm watching my figure." The brunette shook her head and gave the black-haired girl a quick smile. Aretha winced at the subtle implications behind May's words. "I just was surprised by how much food a small person like you could take in."

"Well, I'm not thin for a reason," Aretha sighed, looking sadly at her legs. "My mom always tries to get me to eat less but also keeps on bringing back sweet things for me to eat. She's always contradicting herself, but I'll always eat good food regardless of my weight." She paused and laughed nervously. "Although I _do_ feel a little guilty after doing it."

"Aww. Well you don't _look_ flabby. I mean—you don't look overweight," May quickly corrected herself. The black-haired girl winced inwardly and gave the brunette a tight smile.

"My fat usually goes to my chest, belly, or inner thighs. Honestly, my legs are mostly muscle," she defended herself. Suddenly feeling awkward by how vulnerable she was making herself, Aretha decided to change the topic. "Anyway, have you competed in Hyper Contests before?" Thankfully, May seemed to drop the weight and figure topic.

"Hyper contests? Please. I've gone to Master Contests more times than I can count." The brunette took a bite of her salad and smirked. "It's not very hard to get into Master Contests as long as you know what the judges are looking for. After you battle a few times with the same judges, you start earning brownie points from them."

"Don't try to teach people how to win contests with advantages, May," an exasperated voice sighed. Aretha looked up from her soup to see a man in a white hat slide into the seat across from her. "Hello. I'm Zenith Sterlight," the man introduced himself easily. The black-haired girl blinked and the brunette next to her snorted a laugh.

"Zenith, humble introductions sound snarky when people get as famous as you," May chortled, shaking her head. "Aretha, this is the friend I was talking about earlier. Meet the standing champion of the Battle Frontier and Hoenn. Zenith, this is Aretha Redwing. She's an amazing trainer and for some reason, she's competing in Pokémon contests."

"I'm sure she can introduce herself," the champion informed May dryly. "And don't be so surprised. Most trainers go into contests after they meet an obstacle they just can't get over."

"Oh, so that's what happened to you?" May retorted.

"No, actually, I started contests after I was done with the Elite Four. Then I went off to the Battle Frontier and stopped competing," Zenith shot back. "But I missed contests so I'm competing again at this tournament." Pausing, he added, "_My_ tournament. Anyway, I'm sorry you have to listen to the two of us bicker," he apologized to Aretha, "Your name is Aretha, right? Would you be interested in competing against me during the Gauntlet Challenges?"

"I'm sure you have enough challenges to last you a lifetime during the Gauntlet Challenges," the black-haired girl replied. Her mind swam slightly with disbelief and giddiness. She was talking to Zenith Sterlight, the trainer prodigy that had been a respected and distant figure in her childhood. "I might challenge you later on in the competition."

"Or you can meet him in the finals," May added. "Zenith, you have _no_ idea how good of a trainer Aretha is. Her Mightyena—Tramp, was it?" Without even waiting for the black-haired girl's reply, she continued, "—took down Sceptile without even blinking. I swear, she's been winning this contests solely on her battling skills."

"You sound like an amazing trainer," the champion agreed. "But I will respect your choices. I'll wait for you to challenge me when you feel that you're ready. Or I can hope that you end up in my score range sooner or later."

"I'm afraid that won't be soon," Aretha laughed half-heartedly. "My score isn't as high as I'd like it right now."

"Seriously?" May's jaw dropped slightly. "You should be undefeated with your battling skills!" The black-haired girl winced at how much the brunette was exaggerating. _I'm not that great of a trainer_, she thought, a brown-haired figure and a man in a white-lab coat flashing through her head, _there are much better trainers out there._ Zenith caught her eye and smiled apologetically, as if sympathizing with her.

"It's the double battles," the Hoenn champion said. "But don't worry—once you bump up your score a little more you'll be out of the mediocre trainer cycle. After all, it's only the start of the competition. Let's just hope that you get paired up with someone a little more experienced this time around." Glancing up at the clock, he let out a soft noise of surprise. "Well, if we want to get twenty minutes into a quick training session before the double battles, we should finish eating in the next ten minutes or so."

"Agreed," Aretha said hastily, gulping down her clam chowder, grimacing when the soup left a burning streak down her throat.

"You trainers." May rolled her eyes. "Always trying to get as much training time as possible. Do what you want."

* * *

"Aretha?" The black-haired girl's head snapped up in surprise at the familiar voice. Wally stepped forward and a disbelieving smile crossed his face. "It really is you! We're partners for the double battle!" Her heart fluttered slightly when the chartreuse-haired boy leaned in to hug her. Hopefully he would be a much better partner than her earlier match. "How have you been? Gosh, I've been hoping that you would be here. I'm glad that you really are here!"

"Me too," Aretha agreed. "I've been fine, thank you. Our battle should be starting in a bit, so we should probably head toward the Johto Stadium in a minute or so."

"Still battle-oriented. Gosh, I was hoping that you were interested in sentimentalities," Wally teased.

"I am a huge sentimentalist," Aretha informed him, "but only around close friends and family. And besides," she grinned wolfishly, "after today's contest, my Pokémon and I are craving for a full-out battle."

"Contest? You're doing contests?" Wally quickened his pace slightly to match Aretha's walking speed. For such a short person, she walked faster than he was used to.

"Yep. Less talk, more battle." She paused and smiled apologetically at him. "Sorry. I'm in battle mode right now." As if to prove her point, she shivered slightly in anticipation. "Let's knock their socks off." The two of them headed out onto the battle field just as their names were being announced on the speakers. Wally winced slightly when the announcer butchered Aretha's name, but she ignored it and stared across the field at their opponents. "Who's your first Pokémon?" She asked distractedly.

"Hmm? I suppose I'll lead with my Gardevoir," Wally decided. After all, he was his first Pokémon.

"Alright." The pokéball in Aretha's hand—when had she taken one out?—twitched and a Swampert was released onto the field. "Evanescent and I are ready for you." The chartreuse-haired man blinked before releasing his Gardevoir, who stretched leisurely before examining the opponents and their teams. _Flareon and Rhyperior_, Wally noted mentally. _We have type advantage over both of them._ "Wally." He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the black-haired girl beside him. "Tell your Gardevoir to use Psychic on himself."

"On himself?" Wally echoed.

"Or any move that keeps him up and out of the way." She paused. "Or, at least, make sure that he stands behind Evanescent."

"Why are you deciding moves already? The battle hasn't even started yet," Wally protested just as the announcer declared that the battle was to begin.

"Here's the first lesson I learned about battling—strike fast and strike hard," Aretha murmured to him. "Evanescent! Surf!" Her Swampert leapt before his Gardevoir and summoned a wave of water to tower over the charging Pokémon on the opponent's team.

"Oh? What's this? Wow! The opponent's Pokémon has already been knocked out by Aretha's Swampert! What was that move just then?" Wally could barely keep up as two new Pokémon were sent out onto the field. Quickly identifying their types and weaknesses, he sent his Gardevoir forward. _There's no use in hiding behind her_, he thought to himself. _I have to play my part too_.

"Gardevoir! Psychic!" The white-and-green Pokémon lifted a hand toward the Machamp and threw the fighting Pokémon into the side of the battle area.

"Evanescent!" The mud fish Pokémon leapt forward, slamming into the Magmar that was rearing back for a Fire Punch. "Earthquake!" The terrain rumbled and the opposing Pokémon fell back on their heels, bruising their limbs before fainting against the ground. _So that's why she wanted me to have Gardevoir use psychic on himself_, he thought as his embrace Pokémon took the ground attack. _She didn't want him getting hit by Earthquake._ At the back of his mind, an excited thought rose. _I wonder how she battles in a double battle with her own Pokémon._

Before he was even aware of it, Aretha's Evanescent had taken out the next two Pokémon and the two of them were awarded points for winning the battle. When he glanced back at the black-haired girl, he was startled to see that her eyes were a bright mixture of red and auburn. _I thought her eyes were dark brown!_ The color didn't fade as they exited the stadium and she and her Swampert both seemed restless after the battle. _I guess her eyes change color when she's excited,_ Wally decided, watching the girl wring her hands._ Thank God the next battle's in a few minutes. _He took in a sharp intake of breath. _I don't want to see how she would act when she has to wait an hour for the next battle._

* * *

At the end of the individual trainer battles, Wally was just as restless as Aretha and her Swampert had been at the end of their first double battle. He hadn't been paired up against her for the entire evening and he was desperate to know exactly how powerful she was in a battle against him. The second that the announcement went off declaring that trainers could now challenge one another in the Gauntlet Challenges, he quickly searched her name and spammed the "Challenge" button until he finally received a complaint from the Pokéapp that stated he couldn't challenge a trainer multiple times in a single evening.

"Come on, accept, accept," he muttered under his breath, pacing slightly. He had all but begged her to stay for the Gauntlet Challenges when she told him that she had retired to her room early last night and ignored all the challenges that were sent to her. She had told him that she would think about staying for tonight, but Wally was convinced that Zenith had set up the battle system so that the chances he would ever get to battle by her side again would be close to zero. After all, it was the best way to make sure that the same people wouldn't be able to pair up with one another over and over again and spam battle points.

A small beeping noise alerted him of his challenge had been accepted and then a small notice popped up on his Pokéapp. He stared at the notification before letting out a small noise of triumph and racing toward the battle stadium the notice directed him toward. When he arrived, Aretha was already waiting for him at the opening of the Hoenn Stadium with a polite smile on her face. "How many Pokémon do you have with you?" She asked when he neared.

"Why?" The question slipped out of his mouth before he thought about it and he flushed uncomfortably. Aretha seemed surprised by his question as well, but she smiled and straightened up slightly.

"I don't want to have an advantage if you're battling with less than six Pokémon," she told him.

"Oh please, don't go easy on me," Wally snorted, but the stubborn look on Aretha's face made him give in. "Alright, alright. I have five Pokémon with me." A satisfied expression flickered through the girl's dark chestnut eyes and she beckoned him toward the battle station that had been reserved for their battle. When the two of them took their places at opposite ends of the field, he noticed that her eyes had lightened up to the reddish-auburn color it had been during the double battles. "Ready?" He called out. During the Gauntlet challenges, there was no requirement for an announcer to be present during the battle, so most trainer pairs depended on each other to start and end the battles.

"Yep," Aretha yelled back at him. "Hit me with your best shot." With a small smile, he released his Gardevoir just as her Umbreon leapt out onto the field. _Going for type effectiveness on the first go, huh?_ He thought as the two Pokémon drifted closer toward the middle of the battlegrounds. _That's alright, I suppose. Gardevoir and I have been training for days like these._

"Gardevoir! Return!" The embrace Pokémon lashed out suddenly, his red eyes flashing. His arm came down on Aretha's Umbreon, whose crimson gaze continued to pierce through the Gardevoir. There was a whirl of dust and before he knew it, the two Pokémons' positions had switched. The moonlight Pokémon was hovering over the Gardevoir as the two of them began to fall to earth again. Looking up, Wally saw that Aretha's eyes had faded back to a distant dark-chestnut color. Something pulled at his gut and he quickly turned his attention back to the battling Pokémon—both of who seemed to have yet to touch the ground. "Focus Blast!"

"_Nightshade!_" The Umbreon went flying and tumbled on the terrain after landing roughly on his side. Wally waited with a baited breath as the dust around the moonlight Pokémon subsided. He half-expected the Umbreon to leap out of the dust and charge at his Gardevoir, but the black-and-yellow Pokémon was just barely standing on its feet. _It doesn't matter if Gardevoir doesn't get the S.T.A.B bonus—that move's powerful enough to take down any dark type in two blows_, Wally thought, watching the Umbreon take a staggering step forward. "Nightshade! Dark Pulse!" The black-and-white Pokémon leapt forward, a wave of darkness dispersing into the air around it. Luckily, Gardevoir had been out of the range and quickly retreated a few steps just in case the Umbreon charged at him recklessly.

_What is Aretha doing?_ Wally thought as the rings on her Pokémon's ears, limbs, tail, and head began to glow. The Umbreon ducked its head and rushed forward just as Aretha yelled, "Return!" Once his Gardevoir dodged the attack, the next move was quickly executed. "Dig!" The Umbreon dove into the ground, disappearing from sight. _"Tell your Gardevoir to use Psychic on himself."_ It seemed that Aretha's advice could easily be used against herself.

"Gardevoir!" He yelled. "Use Psychic! Keep yourself off the ground!" His white-and-green Pokémon shot him a confused look but obeyed regardless, a purple aura covering his white-and-red body as he levitated over the ground. Wally shot a triumphant look at Aretha and felt his blood chill when a victorious smile crossed the black-haired girl's face and her eyes flashed red. He shivered and looked around furiously, the ground giving no hint as to where her Umberon had disappeared to. _There should be no way that her Umbreon can find my Gardevoir—right? After all, he's floating up in the air! Her Umbreon can't possibly track the sound of his footsteps nor should he be able to smell him!_ For some reason, Wally nearly expected Aretha to reveal that her Pokémon was able to hear vibrations from the air or something crazy like that.

"Surface!" Suddenly, the ground beside his Gardevoir burst open and opposing Umbreon resurfaced, leaping straight for the embrace Pokémon. "Last Resort!" There was a sickening crack as the black-and-white creature slammed into the taller, amorphous Pokémon and knocked both of them to the ground. Just as they landed, Aretha's Umbreon used his paw and pinned the Gardevoir down beneath her. Seeing the dread on his Pokémon's face, Wally could only watch as Aretha commanded her Umbreon to use Dark Pulse and knock the psychic Pokémon out.

_So that's why she made all those other moves_, Wally thought as he quickly returned his fainted Gardevoir to his pokéball. _Last Resort requires the Pokémon to use all its moves before it can be executed. She probably didn't care if those other moves didn't hit or not. _Almost mechanically, Wally released his Roserade onto the field. After meeting Aretha, he had taken time to evolve his Roselia into his final form. The thorn Pokémon waved its roses outward, presenting the red one in Aretha's direction in challenge. The black-haired girl smiled and her Umbreon limped quickly away from the battleground.

She released her Dragonite and smiled apologetically at Wally. "Next time," she called over, "you'll have type effectiveness."

"Alright." In the usual circumstance, the chartreuse-haired man would've objected at such a large handicap. But for some reason, he felt compelled to accept Aretha's offer. "Roserade, Venoshock!" _"Strike fast and strike hard."_ He almost laughed at how much he was depending on the black-haired girl's advice. Honestly, in a battle between two battle-hungry trainers, Wally was more than willing to throw aside the "proper" battle etiquette and fight to the best of his abilities.

His Roserade raced forward, lowering himself to the ground before throwing a toxic blue rose forward. Violet poison surged toward Aretha's Dragonite and Wally held his breath as the flying substance neared the dragon Pokémon. "Roserade, Giga Impact!" There was a large chance that the Dragonite would just sidestep the poison and the chartreuse-haired man wanted to make sure that his Roserade would be able to retaliate for when the golden Pokémon would attack with a flying move. If he managed to make the Dragonite fly now with his Roserade's Giga Impact, he would be able to have some time to recover before the next attack.

As expected, the Dragonite dodged the poison and stood directly in his Pokémon's path. _Success!_ Wally thought just as the Dragon Pokémon's blue wings flew open. There were only two choices for the Dragonite now—either he would take off into the air or he would have to endure an extremely powerful move from the charging thorn Pokémon. Wally was praying for the former, but from the way that the Dragonite wasn't moving, it seemed that Aretha was letting her Pokémon receive the Giga Impact. _At least it'll do a significant amount of damage_, the chartreuse-haired trainer thought. _But I hadn't anticipated this. How is Roserade going to recover in time to react?_

"Extremespeed." The Dragonite blurred into a golden mist and Wally's Roserade stumbled, missing his mark. Almost immediately, the dragon Pokémon reappeared behind the grass Pokémon. "Ice beam!" Hidden from his view, Wally could only watch as Aretha's Dragonite stepped aside to reveal his fainted Roserade.

"Return." His throat was dry at this point—none of his Pokémon were landing hits. A part of him was desperate to end the match immediately and declare his opponent the winner, but at the same time, the other side of his conscious was on its feet, ready to battle to the very end. He was suddenly reminded of Zenith and how the Hoenn Champion had overpowered him on Victory Road even though he had been down to two half-ruffled Pokémon and the rest of his team had fainted. The pitiful thing was that Wally's entire team had been at full health and were just a few levels behind the white-capped man.

"I'm keeping Paladin out for this battle as well," Aretha called out. "Who's up next?" _Should I end here? I don't have many other Pokémon that can stand up against her_, Wally thought. _Even though my Pokémons' moves were all updated and changed so they could cover more ground on type effectiveness…I doubt any of them will be able to do much against her._ Aretha faltered now, her eyes dimming with concern. _Should I keep going? _He pulled out a great ball and felt it twitch once in his hand. This was the same dread that he had been feeling when Zenith's Swampert had been released from his Pokéball, in the red zone yet more than ready to see his trainer to the end of Victory Road.

"Altaria." A flicker of relief flashed through Aretha's eyes. "Ice Beam!"

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! Am I suddenly out of my update log? I don't know! But as a form of compensation, please accept this longer-than usual chapter! I actually had written this a few days ago, but we don't have internet back at home (for some reason, my parents only want us to have internet access at their shop) and I've been cramming for finals so I haven't been able to sit down in front of the computer for long enough so I could actually write up an A/N and post the chapter!

Yayy! New reader! Shout-out time!

**alaskan anime girl** - Do you seriously live in Alaska? That's freaking cool (in more ways than one!)! Anyway, I want to thank you for liking this story so much that you decided to follow it and I hope you look forward to everything that's to come!

R&R, guys!


	9. Field Day

DISCALIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

Hey guys, if you want the tournament schedule, there's the link, separated with spaces.

moonshadow269. / art/AM-Tournament- Schedule-419814907?ga_submit_new =10%253A1387060 062&ga_type=edit&ga _changes=1&ga_recent=1

* * *

"Both of us made it to the Master Contests!" May squealed, throwing her arms around the black-haired girl and squeezing the younger girl to her chest. Aretha let out a muffled complaint and tried to pull her head away so her face wasn't buried in the other's bosom. "I wasn't worried about me—of course not—but I was so scared for you! The trainer you were going up against was pretty good!" The black-haired girl smiled slightly when she remembered the red-haired contestant she had gone up against. Rosa, if she could remember properly. She would have to check tonight's battle listings to see if the redhead was also a trainer.

"Yeah, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to face her today during the Gauntlet Challenges," Aretha agreed. It would be the first time that she would be challenging someone as opposed to someone sending challenges at her. After her battle with Wally last night, she had accepted a flurry of battles which mainly seemed to be with trainers who had seen her compete in the contests and were interested in fighting her. They had been much easier to defeat than Wally, who had put up a good fight against her Pokémon.

"Gauntlet Challenges?" May echoed. "They're not supposed to be happening today."

"What? Don't they happen every day?"

"Did you read the tournament schedule correctly? It says that there may be events or competitions held in place of the battles on certain days." The brunette smiled sheepishly. "I guess I'm not supposed to spoil this for you, but I think it'll definitely take a bit of stress of your mind. Zenith plans to make it so that contest-and-battle trainers can spend a few hours in the competition before going off on their own to practice their appeals and train. He's going to hold an extra event every day that there's a Hyper and a Master Contest." She patted Aretha on the shoulder. "It's also a way of capping the battles and gives the trainers something interesting to look forward to," the blue-eyed contestant added. "After all, battling every day is tiring. These extra events should be more on the fun side."

"And how is everyone supposed to know about these events? Was there supposed to be an announcement of sorts?"

"Well, there's supposed to be one at lunch so people get a heads up. There was a request sent out last night to the judges and announcers who have psychic and fighting type Pokémon to help out with setting up the event. They were working late into the night, which probably explains why that head judge was so irritable today." Aretha smiled sympathetically at May. If she had been used to having her appeals scored highly, she would've been upset too, but then again, appeals were still her weak point. "Anyway, this event's not going to start until around two. I heard that they're actually going let participants invite their families over to watch them."

"Seriously?" Aretha perked up immediately. "I should call my dad!"

* * *

"_An event? That sounds interesting,_" a voice said over the line.

"Can you come? I miss you," the black-haired girl said wistfully.

"_I miss you too. I definitely won't be able to come, but I can see if Xeno and Link are up for it. They both got a little on the edgy side when you didn't call us a few days ago._" Aretha smiled at the sound of her dad laughing. "_There were a few trainers that put us in charge of their Pokémon a few weeks ago and somehow one of their Pokémon is starting to show a little. I'm going to have to call the owners to see what's going on because I made sure that Theresa checked if they were going into heat _before_ I decided to put them together._" The black-haired girl's heart melted softly at the mention of her father's Blissey. "_According to her, none of them were going to be in full breeding mode, but I just can't wrap my mind around how one of them is suddenly pregnant. I swear—that's going to be the new mystery of the week!_"

"Mmm, sounds like an interesting one. How are your comics coming up?" Aretha asked, leaning against the payphone wall as she absentmindedly twirled the phone cord.

"_They're perfectly fine, but your mother insists that I should just write calligraphy for everyone instead. My art is perfectly fine!_" She giggled at her dad's exasperated tone. "_Anyway, she told me that her boss heard you were competing in the Two-Part Hoenn Championship._" Aretha rolled her eyes—it was so typical of her mother to brag _and_ complain about her simultaneously at work. "_And he decided to give her a week off…but she has to take him with her to watch the competition. Can you believe it?_"

"Which one? Mom coming to see me or her taking her boss with her?" Aretha asked nervously. Her dad chuckled and clicked his tongue at her. "Honestly, I'm not looking forward to either. How exactly is she supposed to stay to watch, anyway?"

"_From what I've heard, her boss is going to be providing hotel rooms for them to stay in._"

"Ugh, well they better make those rooms separate," the black-haired girl grumbled.

"_You read too many weird novels, Aretha_," her dad sighed. "_Those things don't really happen. And besides, your mother isn't the type to do that kind of stuff._"

"She's your wife too," she shot back. "Besides, her boss is a bit on the creepy side. I don't like him."

"_At least she's not his private secretary. Oh—I forgot to mention—he's taking his entire family with them, so be ready to be tackled by his seventeen or so children._" Aretha winced and let out a displeased noise.

"That man's in his fifties. Is it difficult to have a cap on the number of children you want?" She grumbled.

"_Please, Aretha. I wanted more kids but your mother only wanted one. And that one was you. And now I'm lonely because my only daughter ran off to chase after her Absol and started competing in a big, prestigious competition far away in the city,_" her dad whined.

"Well, you have Link and Xeno with you, right? There's no reason why you should be lonely," Aretha objected.

"_Alright, alright. Well, I should probably go ask them about the competition business you're talking about. Your mother should be there today, now that I think about it._" He paused. "_Hey! Maybe we can get her boss to let Xeno and Link stay with your mother to watch the competition over there!_"

"First—you just decided to tell me that she's going to be here _today?_" Her voice rose shrilly in disbelief. "You should've called ahead of time so I could gather my bearings!"

"_Hey sweetheart, there's nothing much that I can do with calling_," her dad pointed out. "_After all, I'm not the one changing locations every few days or so. As long as you just let her do what she wants, I'm sure you'll be fine._"

"Please, dad, that's the last thing I can do," she groaned. "I swear, she and I are at each other like two alphas. There's almost _nothing_ we can see eye to eye on and what's worse is that she's so clingy!"

"_Well, you _are _the affectionate one in our family_," her dad pointed out.

"That's because you rubbed off onto me," Aretha shot back scathingly. "And besides, she was never so touchy-feely when I was younger." She shuddered dramatically. "Why is she so clingy now?"

"_It's because you're growing up_," the black-haired girl blinked at the wistful tone of her dad's voice. "_It only felt like yesterday when you were a toddler running around screaming about how newspapers could either be the size of elephants or mice._"

"Dad," she protested.

"_And remember that your mother _has_ to live in the city because of her job. She doesn't see you that much and now that you're growing up before her very eyes, she feels like she needs to make up for all that lost time._"

"I've always been growing up in her eyes."

"_Yes, but not nearly as quickly as it feels. I know it irritates you when she calls you 'baby', but it's hard to change your perspective of someone after you pretty much raised them on your own. Think of Arky. She's still young right now, but where will she stand twenty years from now?_" Her dad's voice became much more sympathetic. "_Life passes too quickly. She's just scared that you'll grow up too fast for her to tell her that she loves you._"

"I got it," Aretha whispered. She let out a shaky laugh. "Honestly, I'm scared about seeing her again. How long has it been since the last time we saw each other for longer than a day?"

"_Nearly two months_," her dad replied. "_So when you see her today, go up to her and give her a hug. And let her tell you how much she loves you_."

"M'kay."

"_Stay strong, Aretha. I'll be watching as diligently as I can from our living room TV set_."

"I'm in the contests too. They start at eight."

"_Alright. I'll move the TV so that Demetra and Azar can see you_."

"And Velika and all the others?"

"_Of course. I love you_."

"I love you too. Bye."

"_Bye._"

* * *

"Hello trainers and people of Hoenn!" Nema cheered, waving animatedly from the reporting stand where she, Diamond, and Pearl would be providing commentary for the entire competition. "Today is the first side-event to the Two-Part Hoenn Championship! Trainers are grouped up randomly in fours and will be identified by the three colors on their team shirts. Well, Diamond, what's this competition about?"

"A two-mile relay, I think," the black-haired man replied, pausing to swallow a bite of rice. "It sounds tiring. Luckily, there's food and rest provided for the competitors once they and their Pokémon finish their required portion of the race. Anything else to add, Pearl?"

"Nope! Let's go ahead and start the introductions!" The blonde man shouted, earning a cheer from the crowd. "Let's get nice and loud for these competitors, shall we? We have quite a large number of teams in the crowd here—thirty-seven teams, everyone! There are only three prizes and they'll be provided to the top three teams—rare items and points that will add onto their battle scores at the finale of the competition. As there are thirty-seven teams, the groups were randomly numbered and we have cameras placed _everywhere_, so feel free to cheer extra loud when you see someone that you recognize on the screen!"

"Alright, well, let's get this show on the road! The team members have gathered fifty minutes prior to the start of the event and are now stationed at their various positions. They are required to carry a baton through the two miles and are only allowed to participate with land-walking Pokémon, so using a flying type Pokémon or any Pokémon that can fly is strictly prohibited! Any trainers caught breaking this prohibition will have their teams immediately disqualified and a fairly large percentage of the points they won already _will be subtracted_ from their overall score at the end of this day," Nema warned. "The baton must be securely passed from team member to team member and must _not_ be dropped. If dropped, the team members must return to the checkpoint and retry passing the baton."

"Now that we're done with the general rules and guidelines, let's move onto the starting point, which will also be the finish line at the very end of this challenge," Diamond informed the crowd, "We have thirty-seven members lined up at the start. Some key people to pay respects to—Zenith the current Hoenn and Battle Frontier Champion in Team 13! Felix the current Sinnoh Champion and Carter the current dual Kanto and Johto Champion on Team 36! Former Champion of Johto and Kanto Red on Team 29! And finally, gym leader of Viridian City and the former Champion of the Indigo Championship, Blue on Team 23!"

"Oh, but it looks like only Felix is the one present at the start line right now! At the start line are also the various gym leaders from the other region as well! Flannery from Team 29! Roark from Team 36! Wattson from Team 23! Whitney from Team 13! Why, it looks like all of the people we named earlier have strong team members on their teams!" Nema declared.

"It's finally time to start the horn. Special thanks to Professor Hastings and his rangers for assisting in the regulation and administration of this competition! Let's wait for the starting shot…" _Bang!_ "And they're off! They look neck-and-neck! Remember folks, speed is one of the most important stats in this competition!" Pearl announced.

* * *

Aretha watched from her position by the projected screen as the competition carried on. She had been pleasantly surprised to see that Wattson, the fun, eccentric electric-type gym leader was on her team. The other two members of her team were unfamiliar, but they quickly introduced themselves. Emerald, a trainer since childhood. Blue, former Indigo League Champion and current gym leader of Viridian City. Their introductions had been short and curt before they dove straight into strategy-planning. It was quickly decided that Wattson would take the very front with his Electrivire and that Emerald would follow on the flank with his Sceptile.

Surprisingly, Blue requested that he be placed next with his Arcanine, so the position of holding up the anchor was left up to Aretha. When she had to decide on which Pokémon would participate in the race with her, one of the ultra-balls in her bag twitched eagerly. She had touched the surface of the yellow-and-black ball thoughtfully before grabbing the pokéball next to it and choosing Arky as her partner. After going through their strategy of pass-and-sprint—a ridiculously simple plan—there was an awkward bonding session that was initiated by Wattson, who believed that if they were to work effectively as a team, they would have to be able to talk to one another like a team. Unlike their trainers, the Pokémon of Team 13 got along very well, tousling and wrestling with one another as their owners tried to share small bits of their likes and dislikes.

Aretha shook her head to return to the present and glanced at the screen. Wattson and his Electrivire were toward the back of the race, but Blue and Emerald had already anticipated this to happen. After all, a large, bipedal Pokémon wouldn't be nearly as fast as a four-legged sprinter, regardless of its typing. She listened to the announcers, nearly jumping out of her skin when a prank-snake suddenly leap out at the camera. "_Oh—what's this? It seems that there are little obstacles and distractions imbedded in the race! Oh no! Team 2's Exeggutor seems more interested in the joke-snakes than winning the race!_" The black-haired girl grimaced in sympathy for the rider atop his distracted grass Pokémon.

"_Alright, let's check out how all the other competitors are doing as they wait for their team members to bring the baton over to them!_" The screen suddenly split in two as several smaller windows appeared, each showing the people waiting at the three different checkmarks. The fourth screen on the right was one of the crowd and how various people stood up and cheered when they identified someone on the screen. Aretha stiffened up when she saw herself on screen and quickly turned to face her Arcanine, feeling a sudden seizure of her lungs. Arky nuzzled the side of her head reassuringly, surprisingly calm despite the tense situation. The air was saturated with the raw will to win and the black-haired girl felt light-headed from the intensity. On top of that, she was never photogenic or able to deal with stage fright well.

"_Here's a twist—competitors are required to answer a total of _three_ questions in order to pass the gates that are set up in this race. They'll get progressively harder as you go on and they change every time a group passes. Unfortunately for the person in front, if they answer it, they automatically let the people behind them pass too because those gates will stay open for a total of ten seconds! It is at their risk to answer the question, but perhaps the gamble will be in their favor._" A pause. "_Wait—I'm getting a note from the announcers. It seems that our starting few have all passed through the first gate!_"

"_Oh! Team 7 takes a large stumble! Gosh, that looked like it hurt!_" The camera angle on one of the smaller screens quickly zoomed onto a blue-haired girl with bright red glasses. She was wincing and drawing her breath through her teeth sharply as an Emboar tumbled into a sand pit. "_It looks like there are several Trapinch in the area digging holes! How will the competitors get out of this one?_" A pause as the larger screen took over the entire projection, dividing instead into three separate angles—one bird's eye view and one from each side. "_Wow! Look at that Tauros go! Its sheer will is helping climb out of the Trapinch's sand-trap! These trainers are sure diligent!_ _How does it look right now, Pearl? How close is the competition?_"

"_It sure is looking intense, Nema_," the blonde man agreed. "_But it looks like Team 36's Lucario-and-Felix tag-team is ahead of the others! There are quite a few stragglers lagging behind him, but just as much as this competition is one of speed, there is also a requirement for stamina and the ability to adapt to their surroundings._" On the screen, the competitors crossed a rather large patch of ice and one of them spun into one of the Abomasnows that was keeping the ice from melting. The few who managed to stay in control of their footing scrabbled toward the second gate and the answer was quickly answered, releasing the competitors into the last stage of their half-mile run.

"_Speed, stamina, adaptability—why, it sounds like a search for the best trainer and the best team out there!_" Nema declared.

"_Indeed_," Diamond agreed. "_But these trainers have to be exceptional. After all, they were scouted out by skilled trainers and well-experienced gym leaders._" He paused just as the last question was answered. "_However, their independence and ability to train well will come back and bite them in the butt and steal their lunches if they don't learn how to work properly with one another._" Just as he said these words, an Onix dove in front of the leading team and his owner reached out the baton in a desperate attempt to pass it. However, the pass failed when the cylinder flew out of the trainer's hand and landed a few feet away from its intended receiver. "_Uh oh. Looks like Team 11 will have to be repeating that pass. But here comes Felix and his Lucario. Will they pass?_"

"_And they did! Mike from Team 8 also passed beautifully onto his next team member. There goes Whitney and her Miltank! Say, Pearl, why don't we give a short bio on the first five trainers who pass their batons off each time?_" Nema suggested.

"_Sounds great! And that was just Team 4 and Team 31! Alright, so let's start with the recipient of Felix's pass! Roark is the current gym leader of Oreburgh City and he is renowned for his knowledge of fossils and rock-type Pokémon! He is the son of Bryon, who is also a gym leader. He and his Ramparados are just a storm! Look at them run! The gap is quickly growing between him and the other competitors!_"

"_The data has just come in for the member from Team 8. Mike and his Mamoswine have been friends for a long time. He is also known as the Champion of Survival. It turns out that this trainer has already made a name for himself in quite a few reality TV shows: 'Snowpass Survival', 'Poké-man versus Nature', and 'Starviver'. Well, let's hope he survives this challenge,_" Diamond joked, stone-faced.

"_Here's the info on Whitney! Whitney is the gym leader of Goldenrod City and she specializes in normal type Pokémon. She has a very close bond with her Miltank and the two of them are a powerful force to be reckoned with in a battle. Although she and her Pokémon aren't closing the gap between themselves and the leading team, it's quite amazing to see how fast her Miltank is! I haven't seen a Miltank that fast since…well, since ever!_" Nema laughed.

"_Next is Ricky from Team 4. A dark-horse trainer from Unova, but a very strong record in Pokéathalons of the various regions. According to his data, this is his first large-scale competitive battle entrance. Although there isn't much data on his record as a trainer in general, this Pokéathalon is the perfect chance for him to show off his Pokémons' abilities._"

Aretha shivered as she watched Wattson eventually reach the checkpoint and pass the baton. Once the reached the first obstacle of their half-mile, Emerald and his Pokémon evaded the various berries and rocks that a large pack of Mankeys were throwing at them. _It's good that his Sceptile is smaller than most_, she thought. _Otherwise, he'd be having a much more difficult time avoiding those rocks._ She winced as she remembered how she had been attacked by a wild group of Mankeys and how she ended up nursing bruises that lasted for weeks. There were many competitors who seemed to be _aiming_ for the berry projectiles, leaping after whatever flew their way. She snorted and chuckled when a few Pokémon ended up with a mouthful of rocks as opposed to berries.

"You ready?" She prompted Arky, who wagged her tail in response. The competitors were quickly rounding off to the second checkpoint, marking where the first mile ended. Aretha and her Arcanine watched until their team's baton was passed before prepping for their share of the race. The large quasi-legendary Pokémon lowered herself to the ground and the black-haired girl carefully swung her legs over her Pokémon's side. "Steady," she warned when her Arcanine stood up. She felt Arky's muscles ripple under her body in response as the orange-and-white Pokémon positioned herself. Somewhere in the distance, one of the announcers was introducing a woman on a Rapidash.

"_Alright! Next on Team 36 is Crystal and her Meganium. This young woman works for a professor and specializes in Pokémon capture. All of her Pokémon can be distinguished by a small star-shaped decoration on their body—some are stickers, some are pendants, others are marks left by a history of training and battling. She's a bit of a dark trainer in the battling portion of this competition, but her scoreboard is fairly smooth right now,_" Nema noted.

Aretha watched as Emerald managed to cut pass a few competitors and toss the baton at Blue, making him the last of the five trainers who would have a short bio said about them. "_Then it's Blue from Team 23. It's nice to see that Emerald and his Sceptile were able to catch up to the others! I have to say that it's a bit unexpected that he wouldn't be taking up the anchor of this team, but it's quite nice to see him holding up a team slot toward the middle of the competition. This man is the current leader of the Viridian City gym and is a renowned trainer who rivals all the static champions of the various Elite Fours. Known for his ability to run his gym without even being there, this trainer is also famous for developing intense training sessions and training his Pokémon in the best way possible._"

She watched as her teammate lowered himself slightly on his Arcanine's body and how they began to steadily close the distance between themselves and the other teams. She felt her own body tense in anticipation as brunet headed closer and closer to the last checkpoint. Before she knew it, several of the people who had lined up next to her had streaked past and Blue's Arcanine was racing towards them just as his owner leaned forward to pass the baton. Aretha's eyes locked down on the baton and she threw a hand back to receive it. Just as the cylinder touched her hand, a Manectric slammed into Arky's side and the baton was pushed roughly to the side. "_Oh no! Team 23 has dropped their baton! If it hits the ground, they'll have to repass it!_"

_There's no time to repass,_ Aretha thought desperately as she watched the silver cylinder slip from her hands. The next moments felt as if time had slowed to a near stop. Aretha twisted off of Arky's back and reached for the falling baton. Blue's eyes widened in shock as the black-haired girl grabbed a hold of the falling object and tumbled forward, one arm holding the baton to her chest while the other was outstretched.

Suddenly, Aretha felt the wind roar in her ears and time returned to normal. Gritting her teeth as she fell, she screamed out to Arky in her head. _Extremespeed!_ There was a flash of orange and her vision was suddenly obscured by a flowing, white mane. Thrusting her hand out, she wrapped an arm around her Pokémon's neck and quickly pulled herself back onto Arky's back. "Go!" She heard Blue shout as her Arcanine took a sharp turn and began racing in the direction of the finish line.

The ground underneath Arky's feet rumbled and Aretha immediately knew that her first obstacle had come. A horde of Diglets and Dugtrios covered the ground, digging in various directions as they made the ground uneven and rugged. "_Be careful! Remember, you can't harm any of the Pokémon on this course on purpose!_" Pearl warned over the intercom. Aretha's mind flew wildly as she watched the ground Pokémon dig around as she and Arky neared the obstacle. There was no pattern to how they dug and they startled several of the other competitors' Pokémon as they popped their heads out of the ground at random intervals of time.

_There's only one way around them, I suppose_, the black-haired girl thought, giving her Arcanine's sides a squeeze. "Jump!" She felt the muscles underneath her bunch before her Pokémon leapt forward, pushing off from the ground and becoming airborne. They cleared at least ten feat with that leap and Aretha pointed the baton out in front of her, directing her Arcanine's eyes to where she was pointing. "Flamethrower!" A burst of fire came from Arky's mouth and scorched the ground, startling all of the Diglets and Dugtrios. Aretha and her Pokémon landed safely before taking off for a second jump, quickly leaving the heated ground behind.

Twisting her head around, the black-haired girl smiled when she saw a Dugtrio pop its head out of the earth in confusion. "_What was that? Team 23's member just used Flamethrower on the ground. It didn't hit any Pokémon, but why did she do it?_" Rolling her eyes, Aretha ignored the confused announcers and squeezed Arky's sides again when they finally cleared the Diglet and Dugtrio field. There were arrows pointing up at four Drifblims in the sky, each supporting a corner of an enormous digital screen.

_TRAINERS, WHICH BERRY CURES PARALYSIS?_ The name was on the tip of Aretha's tongue before someone far up ahead shouted the answer. _"Unfortunately for the person in front, if they answer it, they automatically let the people behind them pass too because those gates will stay open for a total of ten seconds!"_ Diamond's words echoed through her head.

"Run, Arky!" She flattened herself against her Arcanine as the dog-Pokémon increased the length of her stride and used her nails to steady herself as she fell into a sprint. The copper gates before them began to close as they neared, the Chimechos beside them ringing in warning. Aretha felt her Pokémon's muscles bunch underneath her again and she pushed forward, willing her Arcanine to pass through the tiny space between the two gates. "_Extremespeed!_"

The wind tore at her face and made tears rise to her stinging eyes, but the gates snapped shut behind them as they just barely leapt through to the other side. Aretha squeezed Arky's sides again and the two of them were off, steadily closing the gap between them and the other teams. "_Wow! Another daring move from Team 23's member! Let's keep the cameras on her to see what she does next!_"

The next obstacles were swinging logs, coming from both sides at various times. Aretha directed Arky by leaning her body side to side, lifting herself slightly for jumps and lowering herself to slide under the tree trunks. The Arcanine received a glancing blow to her hindquarters at one point and Aretha had nearly tumbled off because of it. However, it was to their advantage that this obstacle was much more difficult than the first as they managed to pass two people as they cleared the course. There were about four more people in front of them and Aretha eased the pressure she was placing on her Arcanine's sides slightly.

It had meant to be a gesture to tell the quasi-legendary Pokémon to slow down, but instead the fire Pokémon eased from a run to a semi-sprinting pace. When the black-haired girl's eyes locked with Arky's, she realized exactly what the orange Pokémon was up to. After all, she wanted to win just as much as her owner did. Drawing a sharp breath, Aretha glanced at the arrows that flanked her on both sides and looked up to see the next question.

_TRAINERS, NAME ALL EIGHT EEVEELUTIONS IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED AND ADDED TO THE NATIONAL POKÉDEX. _"Vaporeon, 134! Jolteon, 135! Fl-Flareon, 136!" One of the trainers just ahead of her shouted just as his Rapidash. "Espeon, 196! Umbreon, 197! Leafeon, 470! Glaceon, 471! Sylveon, 700!" There were three chimes and the silver gates opened. Aretha's thighs sqeezed Arky's sides and they rushed forward again, passing another trainer. There were only three people ahead of her now.

"_So right now, we have Team 13's Zenith and his Dodrio at the very front of this race! Right behind him is Team 36's Carter with his Arcanine and after that it's Lukxia from Team 29 and her Luxray. Following right after is the dark-horse trainer who has shown us a lot of excitement in the last segment of the race so far—Aretha and her Arcanine from Team 23! The last of the current five trainers is Timothy and his Sawsbuck from Team 11!_" Nema announced. "_The race is neck-and-neck between Team 13 and 36 right now. Team 23 is quickly catching up to Team 29, but Team 11 seems to be all tuckered out._"

"_The final obstacle,_" Pearl shouted excitedly, "_is a true obstacle course in nature! Trainers, you have to get your Pokémon through each and every one of these obstacles and file into the various lanes that are provided to you. Some lanes have fewer obstacles than the others, so this is focuses mainly on luck. If you are to cheat and maneuver around the obstacle without clearing it, you will be immediately disqualified from the race!_" Aretha grit her teeth and quickly entered the leftmost lane, diving straight in.

A large sweeper arm flew straight at her and Arky quickly ducked down to evade it. "Left, left, right!" The two of them dodged flying watermelons, which were being tossed at them by two Machokes. Aretha pressed herself against her Arcanine as best she could and clung on for dear life as her Pokémon weaved through the poles that were set up for them. The two of them burst out of the other end of the obstacle course. Aretha felt a jolt of shock when she suddenly saw that several people had gotten ahead of them. "_Oh, too bad, Team 23! You took the lane with the most obstacles involved!_"

Growling, her Arcanine pushed forward, going into a full-blown sprint and fading into an orange-and-white blur. Aretha stared at the sky, willing the Drifblim with the screens to appear before she and Arky streaked on by. Luckily, they were already there waiting for her with the last question on their digital screen.

_TRAINERS, WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF MILOTIC'S NAME, ITS CATCH RATE, AND ITS NATIONAL POKÉDEX NUMBER?_ The trainers before Aretha began slowing down as they quickly realized that the people in the very front were hesitating with the answer. A brunet appeared in Aretha's mind, holding up a picture book for her to see.

"_Milotic, the _Venus de Milo_, is one of the most beautiful Pokémon in all of existence_," he had said, "_It is one of the rarest Pokémon as it is nearly impossible to catch in the wild. Even then, at full health, it has a fairly high catch rate at 60."_

And then a passing trainer with a strange obsession with Pokédexes. _"I've been out hunting for the legendary Milotic,_" he informed her, straightening his tie proudly._ "On the National Pokédex, it's numbered three hundred and fifty—"_ Arky stumbled slightly and the memory quickly slipped out of Aretha's hands and shattered on the ground. She stared at the quickly approaching golden gate, just barely aware of the trainers who shouted out in alarm. _Three hundred and fifty—three hundred and fifty-five? Six? Nine? _Her mind whirled and her mouth went dry as Arky continued to charge on. Immediately, she went into a state of panic. _Slow down Arky—I don't know the answer!_ The Arcanine whuffed and continued on, refusing to slow her pace. _Arky, Please!_ This was it—they were going to crash straight into the golden gate.

Squeezing her eyes shut in fear, Aretha lifted her head and screamed whatever she hoped was the answer. "_Venus de Milo, Catch Rate 60, 350 National Pokédex!_" Preparing herself for the worst, she hugged Arky, who tensed her muscles and leapt forward. _Arky, Arky, Arky_, the black-haired girl thought desperately, clinging onto her Arcanine. _Please. Please open. Don't break her. Just like you've broken me._

Five strides against the hard ground. _Ding, ding, ding._ A hard leap. _Fwheeet!_ The sound of confetti cones popping filled the air. Aretha's eyes flew open in shock as Arky slowed down, fifty meters away from the finish line. "Wow! Congratulations, Team 23! Let's watch the replay on the big screen!" Dazed, she slid off of her Arcanine's back, blinking blearily at the enormous digital screen that was mounted on two large pillars. The camera showed her and Arky racing toward the final gate, nearly slamming into the golden structures. The Arcanine tensed for a leap and just as the gates opened, she leapt through, snapping the red ribbon that was tied at the finish line.

Before she knew it, the baton was pulled out of her hands and two arms lifted her up into the air. She let out a startled squeak and was quickly spun around by Wattson, whose face was nearly bright red in excitement. "You did it, Kiddo!" He cheered. "You were amazing! I thought it was over when Blue passed it to you, but you pulled through!"

"Put her down, Wattson. You'll put your spine out of place if you move too much," a voice said coolly. The electric-gym leader snorted in disbelief but set her down anyway, winking at her before stepping away. Blue walked up to her, a flicker of interest crossing his face as he looked her over once. "You did well," he told her, offering a small smile.

"Now, it's time to give the winning teams prizes! Please line up on the finish line and step forward when we call your name," Pearl announced. Aretha felt two hands pushing at her back and glanced over her shoulder to see Emerald propelling her in the direction of the finish line with an excited twinkle in his eye. "Alright, Team 23, please step forward!" The four members obeyed and the blonde man handed each of them a medal. "Congratulations for your win! By the end of tonight, you will have received a special item in your dorm room. It will have instructions on how to open the box attached. As for your second prize, you receive a twenty-five point boost on your trainer score!"

"Team 13, your prizes will also be delivered to you by the end of tonight. You are awarded fifteen points as a reward! Team 36, you will receive five points to your trainer score and your items will be given to you by the end of tonight. Please don't leave yet!" Nema called out when a few of the last teams trudged away in defeat. "We had a panel of the finest Pokémon trainers watch the race and they have each decided to reward one competitor for whatever stat they best bring out in their Pokémon!"

"Hello everyone, I am Cynthia and I would like to congratulate you all in your competition today," the blonde champion introduced herself, smiling out winningly to the trainers who were slinking back toward the finish line. "All of you had shown a strong connection with your Pokémon and talent in synchronization. Our panel of six judges have decided to reward the trainers whose Pokémon show the best in speed and stamina. We will also reward the trainer who showed a great knowledge of Pokémon and was able to answer the questions posed in each section of the race. We will also reward the trainer who adapted best to his or her surroundings and finally, the MVT—the Most Valuable Trainer will be announced at the end." The crowd cheered at her words and four other champions stepped forward to stand by her sides.

Aretha watched the five of them curiously, identifying three of them. She had seen at least two of them being interviewed on television and had recognized another because of his presence in the Pokémon breeding magazines that her dad was subscribed to. An unfamiliar champion stepped forward, her spiky black hair contrasting with her white-winged outfit. Immediately the crowd roared to life and eventually settled down a few minutes later. "I, Diantha, Champion of Kalos, will be presenting the Speed Medal to the trainer whose Pokémon was the fastest of the entire competition." She gave a small smile and stepped forward, a silver medal in hand. "From Team 16, Patricia Windy. You and your Rapidash were recorded as having the fastest speed of the competition."

Cheers came from the crowd as the congratulated the black-haired girl who ran up and accepted the medal, gushing profusely of her adoration for the Kalos Champion. She was given a pat on the back and Diantha stepped back before the medal-winner could say any more. "Please at the green line as soon as you have received your medal," Diamond called out just as Patricia headed back to where her team was waiting. Aretha blinked at the green line—it was just a few feet in front of the white line, where she and the first three teams were standing.

Next, a black-haired girl with a flamboyant pink dress introduced herself. "I am Iris, Champion of Unova," she said, "I will be presenting the Stamina Medal to the trainer whose Pokémon held the most stamina of the entire competition." She smiled sweetly. "Lukxia Trace, you and your Luxray had managed to keep your pace at a steady rate for the entirety of your race section." Aretha clapped when her roommate stepped forward to accept the silver medal and headed over to the green line.

Aretha identified the next medal-giver as Lance, a man she had seen in quite a few interviews when she had been flicking through the channels on her television back at home. He had been a somber and self-righteous man on air and it seemed that he didn't betray that persona in real life either. "I present the Adaptability Medal to Nathan Bloomings. He was able to lead his Tauros through the most difficult of obstacles without very much difficulty." A brunet squeezed through the crowd and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he accepted the medal.

The next man was Wallace, the current stand-in Champion of Hoenn. _He's a contest-oriented trainer_, Aretha thought, remembering the interviews that she had seen on the contest channel. "The Knowledge Medal goes to Tate from Mossdeep City. He knew many—if not most of the answers of the questions that were asked today."

"As expected," Wattson murmured into her ear. "He and his sister don't present the Mind Badge for a reason." Aretha's lips quirked up slightly and even Blue seemed to be fighting down a smile as their team applauded for the black-haired man.

Finally, it was Cynthia, who stepped forward with a silver medal with a golden Ho-Oh carved onto it. "I present to Team 13's Silver the MVT award. Throughout the entirety of his race, this man was able to lead his Pokémon through. Although his Pokémon is not the fastest nor had it had the most stamina, but it had the best stats overall and was able to take on the most difficult courses with relative ease." A red-haired man stepped forward and accepted the medal, giving the crowd a curt smile before heading toward the green line.

Aretha smiled at her teammates and was about to excuse herself to find her mother in the crowd when a platinum-haired man stepped forward. Her eyes widened in surprise as Steven, former stand-in Champion of Hoenn took the mike from Cynthia. "I am sure that all of you are confused as to why I am stepping forward with another medal in my hand," he said, lifting the golden medal with a silver Lugia carved onto it. "But our panel of judges felt torn between two trainers to be named as the MVT. In the end, we decided that we would award both trainers for their hard work." He paused and smiled gently out into the crowd. "Throughout this competition, there was one trainer who stood out from the rest," he started.

"This trainer was able to save what seemed to be lost, win when placing seemed unachievable, and show the strongest bond that we've seen between a Pokémon and her trainer in the entire competition. We award this second MVT medal to Team 23's Aretha Redwing and we praise her for her ability to adapt to the most critical moments, her willingness to fight on, and the dedication she holds to her goals." Stunned, Aretha merely stared at the platinum-haired man until a hand pressed against the small of her back and pushed her forward. Startled, she turned her chestnut gaze onto Blue, who smiled approvingly at her. _Go_, he mouthed.

Aretha's spine tingled as she walked up to where Steven was waiting, a fresh wave of disbelief going through her with each step she took. As if to reassure her that all of this was real, her Arcanine pressed against her. When she reached him, he moved to place the medal around her neck. Just as his arms were about to come around her head, she reached up and took the medal from him. Surprise flashed across his face as she turned away from him and reached up to her Arcanine, who lowered her head in confusion. Slipping the medal over Arky's head, Aretha smiled and pressed a kiss to the Pokémon's head. "You won this one," she whispered. "We'll let you rest up when we get back, alright?"

Her Arcanine let out a low sound of agreement and nuzzled her shoulder tiredly. The silence around them quickly exploded into cheers as she bowed to Steven and carefully led Arky away.

* * *

A/N: Wow! This was a long chapter! It seems that I was underestimating just how many extra scenes pop up because of the general plotlines that I have prepared for each chapter. I have a feeling that the chapters to come are going to be just as long-but I doubt they'll be around fifteen pages long. This is probably the longest chapter out of all of the ones so far.

I understand that I could just cut this chapter in two, but I'd just end up posting the second half right after this one. As a heads up, I'm not really a cliff-hanger author, but there will be times where I leave you all hanging.

But now for something completely different (Monty Python Reference!): Reader shout-outs!

**kadesh2501** - Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoy it so far and I hope you eventually review for this story. I would love to hear any suggestions you might have.

**alaskan anime girl** - I'm pretty down south from where you live, so I'm not too used to cold weather as you are. The winters have been getting chiller and chiller where I live and I can't say I'm enjoying it much! As for the genres, I'm not really sure where the romance comes in-do you mind telling me? This fanfiction isn't meant to be a romantic fic, but I did add a pairing implication at one point (but I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about). As for your first Pokemon fanfic-good luck! I'm flattered that my story is inspiring to you and I hope you do well in your writing.

**Someone** - I'm not sure if you're still reading my story, but I hope I haven't offended you. If you are still reading my story, thank you, but if you aren't, I understand. Thank you for reading the first few chapters!

R&R, everyone!


	10. The Infamous Soccer Event

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

* * *

"Oh, I'm so proud of you," Tiffany gushed, hugging Aretha to her chest. The black-haired girl winced as she was pressed into her mother's bony collar. "I didn't know you and Arkyn were _that_ fast." _Her name is Arky, not Arkyn, mom,_ she thought, plastering a fake smile on her face. Honestly, her mother's ability to act as if they had just seen each other yesterday irked her. Not to mention that, but this reunion was a lot more awkward because her mother's boss was standing close by with his chest puffed out and each of his seventeen children crowding around his younger-by-twenty-years wife, each whispering in not-so-hushed voices and sending her conspicuous looks. "Oh, if only your father could see you now."

"He promised that he'd be watching with Demetra and the others," Aretha replied. "And Arky and I have been training pretty hard for the past few months."

"I was so surprised when you suddenly said that you wanted to compete in a tournament. But now I see that letting you come was completely worth it," Tiffany decided with a satisfied huff. The black-haired girl did her best to hide her cringe as a sugar-sweet smile and tried not to show how painful it was to be hugged to a bony person. "Are you eating alright? I'm sure the food here is amazing. Maybe I should've competed here just for the food," her mother rambled, seemingly unaware of the increasing awkwardness in the air.

"Mom, they had actual _scouts_ finding trainers to battle here. It was actually pretty hard to get in," she lied. "And yes, the food is good here." Her mother clicked her tongue disapprovingly at this.

"Are you sure you're not eating too much? I hope you're eating enough fruits and vegetables," Tiffany tutted. "Try to stay away from the sweet food. And the fatty fried things." _They have gourmet chefs here, mom_, Aretha screamed mentally. _Gourmet chefs who are famous for creating healthy meals for humans and Pokémon. They know how to make food that's better than that pokéfood you always try to convince dad to feed trainers' Pokémon with rather than our home-style cooking!_

"Yes mom," the black-haired girl grit out.

"Aretha," her mother's boss called out suddenly, stepping forward. She pasted a tight smile on her face and turned to look at him. He smiled calculatingly at her and Aretha's spine stiffened slightly in disgust. "You were quite amazing out there," he said smoothly, eyes running over the medal hung around Arky's neck. "You have quite a…bond with your Pokémon," he sniveled. The black-haired girl stepped in front of her Arcanine protectively and smiled sweetly at him.

"Yes," she agreed. "Arky and I have known each other for six years. We're the _best of friends_." The tension rose several more degrees and she swore that her mother's ass-crack of a boss's mask slipped for just a second. Before he could say anything in return, his eldest daughter stepped forward grabbing Aretha's hand.

"I'm Madilyn," she introduced herself, shaking the black-haired girl's hand furiously. Her blue eyes flickered back and forth between Aretha's face and the side. "Do you mind showing me around for a few minutes? I've always wanted to be an architect major and the designs here are just _beautiful_." Quickly catching onto what the girl was hinting to, Aretha nodded furiously and the two of them excused themselves from their families. Once they were out of earshot, Madilyn grabbed onto the black-haired girl's arm.

"Look, I'm really sorry about my dad," she apologized. "He was never always a fan of Pokémon because of the fact that he had been sickly as a child." Aretha stiffened slightly, remembering how Wally had told her that his sickly health had nearly cost him his dream of becoming a Pokémon trainer. "And as if to make things worse, his older brother, who was a Pokéfanatic, had been killed in a Tauros stampede." She paused. "My dad was really impressed with you earlier on today. He might be willing to let us all have our own Pokémon if everything goes well and…well, if everything goes well."

"If everything goes well?" Aretha repeated, feeling her suspicion rise suddenly. Beside her, Arky growled in warning.

Madilyn flinched at the Pokémon's reaction and withdrew her hand hastily. "My dad wants to see if you are willing to advertise for his company," she explained quickly. "I was hoping that if…if you went along with it and you managed to attract a lot more attention to his board…then he'd be more willing to let my siblings and I have our own Pokémon." Aretha's eyes hardened slightly and she took a step away from Madilyn.

"I don't know if your father's story is true or not," she started slowly. "But I know one thing for sure. Your Pokémon will never be happy if you continue to have that kind of behavior. Pokémon are never raised to be disobedient, villainous, or stuck-up. However, those kinds of personalities come to them depending on how their trainers treated them and others."

"You don't understand—" Madilyn protested, but Aretha lifted a hand to cut her off.

"No, it seems I don't, but neither do you," the black-haired girl replied curtly. "If you want your own Pokémon, I suggest you speak to a Pokémon professor if your father is a little more willing to let you receive a Pokémon in the future." When she turned to leave, two hands came down on her arm, dragging her back to face the blonde girl.

"Please, I really need one—" She started again, but when Aretha's eyes flashed red, she dropped the black-haired girl's hand with a squeak.

"_Need_ one? To impress your friends or something? To show off?" Arky snarled now, curling a lip to show long, pointed canines. "You can't have that attitude towards Pokémon. They aren't _possessions_. They're lifelong companions. If you go towards a Pokémon with that kind of mindset, the only thing they'll learn from you is that self-interest comes before everything else and that's not how it works in this world," Aretha snapped. The blonde girl's eyes flashed angrily and her face twisted in distaste.

"You're not the daughter of a top business," Madilyn hissed. "I could have your mom fired in minutes. What makes you think that I can't convince my dad to get rid of your mom right here and right now?"

"You won't," Aretha replied coolly.

"Why not?" Madilyn demanded.

"Well first, you're still arguing with me, which proves that you're not that sure if your dad will actually do what you ask him to. You want to threaten me instead, which you hope will make me agree to help you in order for my mom to keep her job. Second, you're just not that kind of person."

"And how do you know that?" Aretha gazed thoughtfully at the blonde girl before her eyes softened and she smiled over her shoulder as she turned away.

"Because people aren't born to be cruel," the black-haired girl replied softly.

* * *

"Aretha." She turned around in surprise and a brilliant smile crossed her face as she leapt into open arms.

"Link! I've missed you so much," the black-haired girl sighed, nuzzling her cheek into the taller woman's shoulder. The arms around the younger girl tightened slightly and the two of stayed like that for a bit, allowing each other's presence soak into their bones. "Did you see how _amazing_ Arky was during the race?"

"Yes. But she couldn't have done it without you." Link stroked the orange Pokémon's face with a gentle smile on her face. The Arcanine whuffed fondly and turned her tender gaze onto her owner. It seemed that she could've have put the Pokémon's thoughts into better words. Aretha blinked at Arky and another beautiful smile crossed her face.

"Aretha! It's been so long!" A black-haired man ran over, nearly tripping over himself in the process. "Oof! Guess that growth spurt really knocked me off balance," he laughed sheepishly, a proud, gentle look in his eyes as he gazed at the black-haired girl. "Link, Frank, and I have been watching every single one of your performances from the TV back at home," he told her. "But I never imagined that your live acts could be better than the ones on our dingy old screen."

"Thank you, Xeno." Aretha reached up and gave the man a tight hug. "Honestly, I'm homesick," she admitted. "I've been running around for so long…" Xeno and Link shared a long look and the black-haired man stepped forward tentatively.

"Aretha…have you ever thought that Apocalypse maybe just wants to be free?" He hesitated. "Maybe…just maybe he's happy the way he is now?" Aretha's eyes flashed red and she snarled at her friend, a myriad of conflicting emotions crossing over her face.

"That can't be!" She grit out, feeling her hackles rise. Arky pressed against her side comfortingly, but it did little to calm the black-haired girl down. "Why would he still be looking for me? He came back for me, Xeno," she stressed. "_He came back._ When I was gathering badges so I could compete in this championship, _he came to find me_. I can't give up on him when he hasn't given up on me. There's something he's trying to tell me, but either he doesn't know what's going to happen himself or he doesn't trust me." She deflated slightly at her implications that the bond between her and her Absol had been damaged.

"Alright, Aretha," Link soothed, placing a hand on Xeno's shoulder in comfort. "I know you're worried about him, but first things first. How have you been doing in terms of sleep? Has he come to find you again?"

"No," the black-haired girl admitted reluctantly. "I haven't seen him ever since the start of the competition. As for sleep, my nights have been dreamless for the most part. But…" She shivered, thinking back to the Wolfsbane blossoms on her night table. "Something feels wrong and I don't know what. I've been getting so paranoid lately—I can't even tell if a bunch of flowers were an innocent gift or a warning." She ran her fingers through her hair. "It's stressing. And with the Master Contests coming up…" she trailed off, a distraught look filling her eyes. "I can't tell if I'm just overreacting because of all the stress from the competition."

"It was a big leap for you to compete in a Championship before actually trying to fight gym leaders and the Elite Four," Link agreed. "And for you to start participating in contests without any prior knowledge to how contestants perform and prepare their Pokémon. But I'm sure you'll pull through just fine."

"We're cheering for you, Aretha," Xeno added softly. "It doesn't matter to us whether you come back empty handed or covered in medals. And you can depend on us," he gave her a half-hearted smile. "We'll listen to anything you want to say." The black-haired girl stared at the two people before her, recollections of their shared past running through her head. They were family to her and they knew exactly what to say to help blow off steam or ease a burden. They were perfect.

"Thank you," she whispered, wrapping an arm around each of their waists. "Thank you so much." Link stroked her hair and Xeno pressed a kiss to her temple. "Are you guys staying with mom for the week?"

"Unfortunately, I have to help Frank run the ranch," Link apologized. "With our 'mysteriously-pregnant' Pokémon issue and our aging friends, he won't be able to see to all the different chores that need to be done."

"But I'll be staying," Xeno cut in quickly. "So don't feel too lonely."

"I won't," Aretha promised, but just as she said these words, the warmth from her chest dispelled, leaving a cold, barren chamber of fear and paranoia behind.

* * *

_The leaves spun down around Aretha's head, tickling her nose and kissing her cheeks with the promise of changing seasons. On her lap lay Arky's twin pups—Equinox and Solstice. The two Growlithe-mixes squirmed, Solstice nipping at his brother as Equinox batted his obnoxious sibling away. Beside her, Arky rumbled in contentment, gazing down at her pups with a tender fondness that had once been reserved only for her owner._

_Leaning over slightly, Aretha flipped lazily through her botany textbook, skimming over the text that provided her with in-depth information of floral plants with a medicinal side to them. It was one of several books that her dad had purchased in when she had announced that she would be taking a botany course to learn more about toxic plants. The air was calm and blissfully warm, slowly easing the tiredness out of her shoulders and she leaned back with a satisfied sound._

_The ear-splitting screech that tore open the sky in the next moment was unexpected. She scrambled to her feet, hastily handing the Growlithe pups to their mother as she sprinted toward the direction of the cry. As she approached, she heard her dad crying out in alarm and another painful wail fill the air. When she burst out of the undergrowth, she saw Apocalypse with his hackles raised, hissing angrily as he paced around her father and the trembling bundle in his arms. Crimson dripped from the Absol's eyes and jaws, painting his white fur like a bloodied canvas. "Apocalpyse?" Aretha called out hesitantly and her dad's head snapped up in horror._

"_Get away, Aretha!" The warning came too late. Her Absol leapt at her, tackling her to the ground. She landed hard on her shoulder, a sharp breath of pain escaping her as she was slammed onto the uneven ground. Apocalypse snarled in her face, nearly frothing at the mouth as their breaths mingled. For the first time in her life, Aretha felt fear flood her senses as she stared at her Pokémon, a voice at the back of her head screaming for her to run for her life. Unable to fight off these instincts, she shoved Apocalypse off of her, sending him into the side of a tree. The Absol's frame was rattled by the impact, but he quickly got onto his feet, growling at the girl he had once known as his master, his owner, his partner._

_Just when it looked like he was going to attack her again, he turned away and bolted, disappearing into the distance. Aretha stared off after him, the adrenaline in her veins making her shake violently. "Aretha! Are you okay?" She stared out at her outstretched hands, which had pushed Apocalypse away. Suddenly, the adrenaline flushed out her body and a tear spilled over the edge of her eye._

_Immediately, two gentle arms were around her, rubbing her shoulders and holding her against a warm, solid chest. She was quickly enveloped in a comforting, familiar scent. "Hey, it's alright. Don't worry. It's all going to be okay now." But Aretha could only shiver in her father's arms, a towering wave of horror and guilt crashing down onto her when she realized what exactly she had done. _I shouldn't have pushed him away,_ she thought. _I should've trusted him.

* * *

She sat up abruptly in her bed, holding her head in her hands as she tried to control her breathing. Her pajama top clung uncomfortably to her skin, absorbing the cold sweat she had awoken in. She began to shake violently, letting out a choked sob as she wrapped her arms around herself and drew her knees up to her chest. She cried silently for a while, remembering how she had lashed out against her Pokémon and doubted his actions. She should've known something was wrong. She should've reached out to him and healed him. She shouldn't have let fear control her thoughts and actions.

"Hey. It's going to be alright now." Aretha flinched when a gentle hand rested onto her shoulder. Her eyes found Lukxia's stormy gray eyes and she could only stare as the woman pressed a warm towel against her forehead, carefully wiping the sweat off of her skin. "Let's get you to the shower," she suggested, taking the black-haired girl's hand. "We don't want you catching a cold, after all." Numbly, Aretha nodded, allowing her roommate wrap her in a blanket and pick a few articles of clothing from her duffel bags.

She shuffled after her roommate to the large bathroom area that was designated for people who were staying in their area of the dormitories. Once they were by a shower stall, Lukxia gently pushed Aretha past the shower curtain and told her to strip. "What time is it?" The black-haired girl heard herself ask as she shamelessly handed over her underclothes and her pajamas. There was a pause from the other side of the curtain and Aretha shivered.

"Two in the morning," the blonde woman replied. "Hurry up and turn on the water. We don't want you freezing to death." _We?_ The black-haired girl thought to herself as she mechanically turned the knob to the hot and allowed the water to wash over her. After a few minutes of soaking under the hot spray, she turned to the side and cupped her hands to receive the shampoo and conditioner that were dispensed by two machines.

"I'm sorry for waking you," Aretha mumbled, massaging the shampoo into her hair. She didn't expect her roommate to hear her—after all, she could barely hear herself over the roar of the shower.

"I was already awake." The reply was curt. There was a pause. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Aretha replied automatically. "I can barely remember what it was about," she lied through her teeth. The answer had been too quick, saturated with an edge of firmness that negated any decisions to challenge her response.

It was obvious that Lukxia knew that she was lying, but the roommate didn't say anything as Aretha finished with her shower. When she shut the water off, a hand poked through the side of the curtain with a fluffy white towel carded through its fingers. After she was done drying herself, Aretha draped the towel over the rim of the shower and Lukxia handed her underclothes and an outfit.

The black-haired girl stepped out of the shower, barefooted and hair wet. The blonde woman carefully wrapped the girl's hair in a towel and led her back to their shared room. Once they were back in the safety of their living space, Lukxia proceeded to help Aretha dry her hair. When they were finally done, the blonde woman settled down next to the younger girl and said nothing. The room was silent aside from the soft snoring that was coming from the older woman's Luxray and the sound of the two trainers' breaths mingling together.

"You…did great yesterday," Aretha mumbled. She winced inwardly at how awkward her words had been, but to her relief, Lukxia didn't seem to mind.

"You were breathtaking too." A pause and then a chuckle. "We don't really know each other, don't we?" She turned to face Aretha. "Let's start over again." She smiled and held out a hand. "Hello, my name is Lukxia. I'm your roommate for the Championship." The black-haired girl stared at the offered hand before the side of her lips quirked up and she slipped her hand into her roommate's.

"I'm Aretha," she introduced herself.

* * *

"_Good morning, everyone,_"Diamond said into the speakers. "_I would like to inform all the trainers that today the battles will be cancelled so those participating in the Master Contests and in battles will be able to have time to choose the Pokémon they would like to enter in any future contests._" A chorus of groans rose from the cafeteria and Zenith chewed on his lip worriedly. Perhaps choosing to cancel battles every time a Hyper Contest or a Master Contest came along was too often."_We apologize ahead of time to the trainers who want to battle for points, but the battle stadiums will be open for battles if you wish to train against other trainers. However, points will not be awarded for these battles. If you are not interested in battling with other trainers today, please consider investing your time in helping us organize the track that yesterday's competition was held on._

"_We will be meeting as soon as breakfast is over, so if you are interested, please show up and help. We appreciate you all for listening and good luck contest competitors!_" As soon as the announcement was over, the cafeteria burst into conversation. Zenith drew a sharp breath and pushed his scrambled eggs around on his dish nervously. Carter and Felix, who sat across from him, shared a concerned look. They had also been looking forward for battles today, but after seeing the state of the track after yesterday's event, it was obvious that it would take the majority of today to clean up so the Championship crew could prepare for future events.

"Why are they cancelling battles? Most of us need those points," someone grumbled from the table behind Zenith. "It's so unfair. It's like they don't want us to actually have a chance to win this Championship." The black-haired man tightened his grip on his fork and bit down on his lip. Across from him, Carter's gray eyes flashed angrily.

"I know, right?" Another voice agreed. "They just want to let the trainers who got lucky in their battles stay on top of the rest of us. I should've known that this competition was weighted. It's always biased towards the others."

"I should've just waited for the Indigo Championship," a third person joined in. "At least that one's fair. The tournament rules here are just so screwed up." Zenith saw his best friend's body tense and Felix quickly placed a hand on Carter's shoulder to keep the bold man down.

"Zenith?" The Sinnoh Champion asked nervously. The Hoenn Champion had a myriad of emotions flickering over his face, changing quickly from disbelief, rage, and guilt. Felix looked around worriedly—if he spoke out now, the three who had been talking would most definitely claim that the tournament leaned toward current region champions and top trainers. After all, it wasn't shocking that the champions from the various regions were the best of friends.

"Can you stop complaining?" The room fell into an abrupt silence and everyone's head turned to see a blonde woman scowling at the trio who sat behind Zenith. Her blue eyes glowed with a flame of annoyance. "Stop blaming your losses on the tournament. It sure isn't weighted because—if you haven't noticed—some of the top trainers have been placed _against_ each other rather than against trainers like you."

"Are you calling me weak?" A redheaded man barked, quickly leaping to his feet.

"I didn't say anything," the woman replied coolly, her eyes icy. "But sure, we can consider you as weak if you want us to."

"You—!" The man swung out at her and Zenith quickly threw a pokéball in between the two of them. Immediately, a Machamp appeared, one of his four arms catching the attacking trainer's fist while his others held the man down.

"Enough," Zenith rumbled with a hint of a growl. "If you don't want to participate in this Championship—if you think that I would go as far as to allow this competition to lean toward a certain group of trainers—feel free to leave. And if you want to kick up a greater fuss, I will allow the rangers escort you out of these tournament grounds. I will not allow you to ruin this experience for the other trainers in this competition." He nodded to his Machamp. "Release him, Ekon." Turning back to the offending man, he raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to continue in this competition or not?" He questioned.

"Tch," the man spat, turning away. Zenith's eyes narrowed and he nodded at his Machamp, whose hands quickly clamped down on the retreating figure's shoulders. "Hey! What the heck?"

"That's not an answer," the Hoenn champion pointed out coolly, "do you want to continue in this competition or not?"

"Yes!" The man snapped.

"Alright then. Do not cause unnecessary trouble for everyone else in this Championship. Be aware that your own losses here have nothing to do with the tournament listings," Zenith informed him. "There are no tricks here." The man scowled and tore himself from the fighting Pokémon's grip, fleeing from the cafeteria. The Hoenn Champion shook his head before turning his attention to everyone who was watching him. He smiled apologetically to them. "I apologize for that outburst," he said calmly. "But I ask all the trainers who have no particular plans today to assist in the cleaning up of yesterday's event. I will also be assisting the people who are currently starting on organizing the track as soon as I am finished with my contest today. I encourage all of you to come help."

He turned his attention to the blonde woman who had first spoken out against the offending man. Her stormy gray eyes were unreadable and she studied him curiously. Zenith could almost hear the gears in her head turning. "Thank you," he told her. "If you hadn't said anything against him…I wouldn't have been able to advocate for my case without making it look as if there really is a trick to the scoreboard."

"Is there?" She asked.

"Not at all." He shook his head. "You see, I organized the tournament in that I decided the general schedule and the resources that are available for each event. The Ranger Organization and the people who usually run the league tournaments at the other regions are in charge of deciding which events will be used, how judges will score competitions, and fixing bugs in the program that was made to match trainers up with one another." He smiled. "May I know your name?"

"Lukxia. Lukxia Trace," she introduced herself. _The woman who won the Stamina Medal the yesterday,_ Zenith noted.

"Thank you, Lukxia. I hope that our paths may cross in the battles to come." He nodded to her before heading back to the table where his friends were waiting.

"Geez, that man should've known better than to provoke you," Carter snorted. "I was about to give him a piece of my mind…"

"It's funny," Felix chuckled, "how you can be so polite and passive at one moment and ruthless and aloof in the next."

"Well, that personality's served him well so far," the man in the yellow-and-black cap pointed out, leaning back in his chair slightly. "I mean, you ended up as the dual Champion of Hoenn and the Battle Frontier, right?"

"There's no way to say this humbly, but yes," Zenith replied, standing up. "Now if you excuse me, my contest is going to be starting in a few moments. If you aren't going to be present for it, please help the Ranger Organization in cleaning up the remnants of yesterday's event."

"Cold!" Carter complained, twisting his yellow-and-black cap with a pout. "We're your best friends! Can't you treat us a little better?" He shouted after the retreating figure. The man in the white hat waved his hand to show that he had heard but never looked back. Beside Carter, Felix smiled sheepishly.

"He does treat us a little better than others," the Sinnoh Champion said softly, just barely catching his friend's attention. "But that's just Zenith. He treats everyone the same."

"His greatest gift and his greatest flaw," Carter clicked his tongue.

* * *

"Hey, hey, kick it over here!" A trainer called. Aretha watched as various trainers kicked a soccer ball between themselves and their Pokémon. According to a spectator, the participating players were trying to replicate the original Pokéathalon soccer event, where each trainer had three Pokémon out and had to direct each and every one of them to a position where they could either defend their goal net or score a point. However, they had decided to modify it slightly so that lines that were drawn on the ground could be considered goal lines and that trainers could also participate in ball passing. The soccer game was supposed to be a way of building a connection between the Pokémon and its trainer, the spectator had said.

_Seems ineffective and stupid_, Aretha thought listlessly. _It's nearly impossible to keep an eye on all three Pokémon at a time—and even if you tell them to stand in front of the goal you can't stop the other team from scoring a goal._ She paused, wondering why she was even watching them play. They had invited her to join when she first arrived, but she had declined because she hadn't been interested. She never found sports where a ball or object was passed back and forth across a field or court particularly exciting, yet here she was, watching a somewhat pathetic game of mock-Pokéathalon soccer.

_I should probably head over to the track area,_ Aretha thought. _I could help out with cleaning up…_ "Aretha!" The black-haired girl turned to see May running over with a smile on her face. "Congrats on winning the Master Contest!" The brunette told her. "Don't worry about me—I'll enter Sceptile into the next Cool Contest. We'll meet you in the championships!"

"Championships?" Aretha echoed. "There are championships?" May's smile faltered slightly and a horrified look crossed her face.

"Oh my god!" She winced. "I wasn't supposed to say anything about it…Ah, well the secret's already out. There's a championship for the contests that's coming up as soon as all the Master Contests have been won. I heard from the Ranger Crew that all the Master Contest winners will be asked to come in after the last Master Contest and create a special sort of performance for the Championship. We'll be allowed to use whatever is available to us—dry ice, lights—anything."

"Really? How much time will we have until then?"

"About a week or so, honestly."

"That'll give me some time to find out how to improve Tramp's appeals," Aretha murmured, glancing down when the luxury ball in her pocket twitched in agreement. "The berries that I gave him didn't have much effect."

"Wait—you've never fed him Poffins or Pokéblocks?" May's jaw dropped when the black-haired girl shook her head. "Do you even _know_ what Poffins and Pokéblocks do? Or at least how to make them?"

"No?" Aretha offered hesitantly.

"I should've known," the brunette muttered to herself, "This explains why your appeal score is always so low." She shook her head to clear her thoughts and smiled at Aretha. "Okay, well, think of Pokéblocks and Poffins as powered-up condition berries. You make Pokéblocks and Poffins _from_ berries and you blend the berries to make a pastry or block that has improved condition effects. Although they don't do anything to boost attack or any stats, they make appeals much more…appealing, I suppose. I can teach you how to make them, if you'd like," she offered. "There's a station that's located in the room adjacent to the cafeteria where we can make Poffins and Pokéblocks."

"Alright. Are we going now, or…?" Aretha trailed off.

"We'll do it sometime tomorrow—after lunch, probably," May replied. Blinking in surprise at the unsure look on the younger girl's face, she quickly corrected herself. "Right—you're competing in the regular trainer battles too. Then why don't we get together when the Master Contests roll around again? You'll have time then," the brunette suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Aretha replied.

* * *

A/N: Ahaha! This chapter isn't nearly as long as the last one! Anyway, I have a feeling that the chapter lengths are still going to vary from time to time-depending on how much I can write for each "brief summary" I have prepared for each one...

I'm sorry to say that there are still a few more semi-filler/filler chapters on the way! Honestly, they're here to get everyone situated and introduced to the characters that are going to play a fairly significant role in the chapters to come, but at least Aretha's starting to learn a lot more about Pokemon Contests and other things that have to do with Pokemon!

Just a warning: I'm in the middle of finals week right now, but winter break is just around the corner and I'll have a ton of free time to write...depending on whether I can get into the "writing zone" or not. I doubt that'll be difficult, but don't expect another chapter from me until around the end of this week!

Reader shout-outs!

**Someone/Guest** - Nice to see that you're back on reviewing! If you could choose a "guest name" for yourself, that would be great in case other guest reviewers decide to pop up! I had a bit of a hard time with one of my other stories when it came to figuring out which guest was which. Anyway, I hope this chapter explained just a little bit of who Link and Xeno are, but if you still have questions about it, please feel free to check the character guide that I uploaded a while back! As for Apocaylpse (the Absol), he's going to show up later on in the story. For right now, he's still being introduced.

I didn't think about Whitney's Miltank just demolishing the tournament with Rollout, but you got a laugh out of me and now I somewhat wish that I had joked about it somewhere in the last chapter...

As for the "team of Rapidashes", I just got a call from the people running the tournament-turns out that they had the trainers enter in what Pokemon they were going to use and then decided teams based on that. If you can remember from the games and the anime, a lot of trainers tend to have a certain "type" that they build their team of or they have Pokemon that are associated with their appearance/style. I'm just guessing that there weren't too many cowboys and fire-breathers in this mix. I don't know how they managed to get Arky and Blue's Arcanine on the same team, but I guess they just couldn't find a place for them anywhere else...?

Anyway, I didn't actually think of anything to base Starviver off of. I nearly died laughing when I thought about trainers surviving with a single Staraptor/Staravia/Starly, but then again, why not? And yes, somehow Aretha has Poketelepathy. With all of...two Pokemon so far. I think I mentioned a little earlier that Aretha was able to communicate on a more mental level with some of her Pokemon, but I can't be sure...

As for the Champions, I just wanted to throw them out there. I'm a HUGE Hoenn and Steven fan, so that's why there was some extra love toward him in the very end of the chapter.

Well everyone, thanks for reading and I hope you review for me/follow this story/or favorite it!


	11. Romantic Wall Encounters

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

* * *

"Aretha Redwing!" Steeling herself, the black-haired girl smiled confidently at her Arcanine as the orange Pokémon stepped forward and straightened up for the crowd. _The berries that dad sent over seem to be doing a good job,_ she thought as she admired Arky's silky coat. The quasi-legendary Pokémon's fur had always been long and glossy, but the berries that she had been given seemed to enhance that beauty. However, since Aretha had yet to learn how to make Poffins and Pokéblocks, she and Arky still looked fairly homely compared to the other entered Pokémon.

"Flamethrower." _Arky only has two moves that are classified as beauty moves_, Aretha thought as her Pokémon released a stream of fire and began to twist from side to side, giving the fire a snake-like appearance. _I'll have to be careful about using the other two._ Inwardly, she wished that she would be given the same amount of freedom she had in battles, but unfortunately, the judges were only going to provide points for beauty moves and not what seemed to be most advantageous in a battle.

A round of applause snapped her out of her thoughts and she gave the crowd what she hoped was a winning smile when Arky returned to her side. The Arcanine wagged her tail and nuzzled her owner's cheek affectionately. "Good job, girl," Aretha whispered. "Now we get to the tricky part." Just a few feet away, the announcer began assigning trainers to one another for the battle section of the contest. When she was called forth to present the first battle, she straightened up and drew in a sharp breath. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

It was probably the first time that she had ever lost a battle in the Hoenn Championship, but then again, it was the first time that she was unable to switch Pokémon so she would have type advantage over the other trainer. Although she managed to score more points than the opposing trainer in the battle section of the contest, Arky had been hit by too many strategically planned water moves to be at her best. As her contest session came to a close and she left with a ribbon that acted as her eligibility note to enter in the upcoming Super Contest, her limbs felt limp with defeat and her pulse quickened with a mixture of fear and determination.

The contestant that she had gone up against was a true contest competitor. He had scored the highest in appeals and lost to Arky by a few points in the battle, but regardless, he was a professional. It was a daunting thought that she might have to compete against him in later contests—as they had both moved onto the Super Contests—but at the same time, it was a sense of motivation. She wanted to battle against him again—she wanted to win without type effectiveness in a battle so structured that it was difficult _not_ to be tempted by the one move that was meant to cover that opposing typing in battle. She wanted to taste the sweetness of victory against a trainer who was more experienced than she was in a certain field. She wanted to win.

* * *

Lunch passed quickly without any particularly exciting events, aside from the fact that the entire cafeteria burst out in cheer when it was announced that battles would proceed for the next two days. Before long, Aretha was headed toward Unova Stadium to meet up with her partner and battle for two hours in double battles. As she neared the section of the stadium that had been reserved for her and her partner, she was able to recognize two of the three trainers who were already waiting on the field.

Lukxia, Blue, and a man with red eyes stood together on the center of the battlefield. Aretha looked over them warily, trying to decide who her partner was. "_Oh! It looks like the fourth member of the double battle has finally arrived!_" Her head shot up in surprise at the announcer's voice. There was someone watching them? _I thought only certain battles would have announcers_, Aretha thought uneasily. _Announcers mean…_She felt the blood drain out of her face as she whirled around, spotting a team of cameramen just before they dispersed, heading out in different directions. _Crap._ "_Alright! Team Trace-Redwing will take the southern side of the battlefield and Team Oak-Red to the north._" Blue scowled at his partner as they headed toward their stations.

"Red?" Aretha heard him question exasperatedly. "You couldn't just have them say your last name?" Unfortunately, by the time the other man replied, they were too far away for her to hear what he had said.

"Ready, Aretha?" The blond woman smiled in greeting. Beside her, her Luxray yawned nonchalantly. "What Pokémon will you be leading with?"

"I was going to base it off of yours," the younger girl replied, stepping toward her roommate. "Aren't you going to use your Luxray?"

"Farren?" She glanced at her electric Pokémon. "No, he just likes to stay outside of his pokéball. Do you want me to choose my lead?"

"No, it's alright," Aretha reassured her. "I'll lead with…Evanescent." Tossing a pokéball into the air, she blinked affectionately at her Swampert as he landed on the ground. He stretched leisurely and blinked at Lukxia's Luxray, his orange gills wiggling in greeting. The gleam eyes Pokémon whuffed in return, the star on the tip of his tail twitching slightly.

"Fair choice. I'll pick Horus, then." A Braviary burst out of his pokéball, letting out a cry as he circled around his trainer and landed carefully next to Evanescent. The flying type and the water Pokémon greeted one another with curious sniffs and proceeded to study one another.

"_It looks like our trainers have chosen their Pokémon! Team Oak-Red have sent out an Exeggutor and a Lapras! Team Trace-Redwing have sent out a Braviary and a Swampert!_" Nema announced. "_Alright, now that all the Pokémon are on the field, let's get this battle started! Trainers, begin!_" The Exeggutor charged immediately, his three heads each screeching at the top of their lungs. "_Wow! Exeggutor kicks it off with a charge! I can't even tell if it's a move or not!_"

_It's not_, Aretha thought brazenly, a tight smile crossing her face. _It's just running._ Beside her, Lukxia had the same smile, not willing to inform the announcer of what was really going on yet still feeling a little bit of pity for her. "I suppose this is what happens when you have someone who isn't extremely familiar with Pokémon announcing things," the blonde woman sighed as the Exeggutor continued to advance. It had already crossed over the half-line of the battlefield.

"Is that so?" Aretha asked unconcernedly.

"Yeah, she's a famous inventor. She's famous for her work with the Ranger Organization," Lukxia replied, sparing her roommate a glance. Overhead, the woman in question was babbling about how Team Trace and Redwing had yet to react to the charging Pokémon. "He's halfway across," she pointed out, "feeling the pressure yet?"

"He's fast," Aretha agreed. "But that means he's lacking somewhere else."

"My bets on special defense."

"Mine is too. Evanescent, dodge!" Lukxia flicked her wrist and her Braviary was off, taking off into the sky. The Exeggutor skidded to a stop and stared at the Swampert across from him as the two of them began to circle each other like wolves.

"_W-what's this? The Pokémon are just circling each other._" Aretha looked across the field and stared at her opponents, scrutinizing their every move. The man named Red nodded his head and pointed up, angling his Lapras's head to where Horus was hovering. "_What are these trainers doing?_"

"Dive, Horus!" Lukxia commanded just as Aretha yelled, "Earthquake!" Blue eyes clashed with auburn ones and the two trainers nodded at one another. The blonde woman's Braviary dove straight for the Exeggutor who was fumbling to gather his bearings. The flying Pokémon slammed the grass type onto its side, sending the Exeggutor tumbling as the ground continued to shake violently.

"Blizz—hey—_what_?"

"Focus blast!" Across the field, Evanescent sent the opposing Lapras flying.

"_What's this? Quick, recap—recap!_" On the screen, Horus slamming into the side of Exeggutor, who was trying to steady himself on the shaking ground. On impact, the grass Pokémon tumbled, his feet scrabbling wildly on the ground as the shaking terrain made it impossible for him to get up. In the very corner of the shot, Evanescent turned away, sprinting across the field to where his opponents were trying to gather their bearings. Once the shaking stopped for the most part, Red had lifted his hand and was about to execute a move when Evanescent slammed his Lapras to the side.

"Good thinking," Lukxia whispered as her Braviary quickly returned to the sky, circling for another shot.

"Got any more tricks up your sleeve? That Exeggutor's definitely a naïve nature," Aretha breathed, fighting the urge to race out onto the battlefield. Her blood burned a trail down her veins, screaming for her to join the battle and fight side-by-side with Evanescent.

"Sure." Lifting her head, Lukxia addressed her Braviary. "Air Cut—"

"Leaf Storm!" The opposing Exeggutor, who had been unceremoniously rolled to where Team Trace-Redwing stood. A flurry of leaves filled the air, flying out in all directions. _Too close!_ There was no way of dodging the attack—she and Lukxia were too close to the Pokémon when he unleashed his move. The blonde woman turned to Aretha and quickly enveloped the shorter girl in her arms, obviously hoping to protect her from harm. As they fell to the ground together, the entire stadium tore up into screams. Aretha couldn't decide whether it was because of what was happening in their section of the stadium, or if there was some other amazing battle going on.

_Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump._ _Thud…_ "_Surf!_" A wave of water came crashing down on them, slamming them into the side of the stadium. The air was forced out of Aretha's lungs, but she tugged on Lukxia's arms, hoping to direct the woman to the surface. The two of them surfaced, spluttering and trying to get the water out of their eyes. Within a few seconds, the water lapping at them subsided and hands were on their arms, tugging and pulling them each in different directions. Fingers probed at Aretha's ribs, checking for bruising as other hands busied themselves with prying her eyelids open and finding her heartbeat.

Her eyes stung as leftover water dribbled into her eye and she hissed, wrenching her chin away from the hand that had been holding her head still. Overhead, she could just faintly hear Nema trying to reassure everyone in the stadium that Team Trace-Redwing was alright. "_Paramedics are on the scene! Please everyone, stay calm…_"

A snarl cut through the chaos and suddenly the hands that were grabbing Aretha disappeared as a warm weight settled against her torso. Rubbing her eyes with her newly freed hands, the black-haired girl faintly recognized Evanescent's form pressing up against her. He growled at the paramedics who were crowding around her, baring his teeth whenever they tried to take a step toward her. Dazed, Aretha reached out and ran her hands up and down her Swampert's shoulders, trying to relay that she was alright and only needed a moment to compose herself.

"Okay," she heard herself mutter, "I'm okay." Steadying herself against Evanescent, she lifted her head. "Lukxia?"

"I'm fine," the blonde woman snapped irritably at the paramedics around her, tugging her arm away from them. Beside her, her Luxray sparked in warning. "You hit your head on the wall when your Swampert used Surf," she addressed her roommate, ignoring the medical team that was trying to pull her off the battlefield. "You alright?"

"Fine—peachy," Aretha promised as the dizziness faded into a small headache. "Still up for a battle?"

"After this beating?" Lukxia chuckled in disbelief. "Of course."

"That's not reasonable—" a paramedic started and Aretha's crimson glare quickly silenced him.

"I'm sure I know my body better than you," the black-haired girl growled. "And I'm perfectly _fine_. Go bother someone else who actually needs your help, will you?" Her red eyes narrowed. "Or would you like me to ask Evanescent to send you into the wall instead?" She threatened. With a squeak, the medical team was quickly off the battlefield and Lukxia let out an impressed whistle.

"Never thought I'd ever see that kind of side from you," the blonde woman commented. "But then again, expect the unexpected. Hey," she called out, addressing the opposing team of trainers. "You still up for a battle? My partner and I are still up for a battle." Aretha saw Blue and Red share a look before the black-haired man shrugged at his friend.

"Why not? You won't be getting any handicaps from us," Red called out.

"What makes you think we need them?" Aretha threw back. She felt a flicker of satisfaction deep inside of her chest at the startled expression on both men's faces.

"Short tempered, aren't we?" Lukxia teased.

"It's the headache talking," the black-haired girl replied. "But that shouldn't be your first priority right now." She glanced at her roommate. "It's time to step it up."

* * *

"Thirty minutes. Ten minutes over time. Gosh, the trainers who were waiting for our spot got so impatient when they realized that we were still battling," Lukxia chuckled, shaking her head from side to side. "Who know that the battles were set up so each of them would only take up twenty minutes at the most? I hope we don't get penalized for going over."

"I'll file a complaint," Aretha replied, wincing as a nurse came in contact with a particularly tender part of her head. The two of them had decided to head over to the infirmary just to see if the younger girl had sustained a head injury or not from the impact. "The best battles always take forever anyway. I'm sure we were great in front of the cameras."

"Some of them probably got damaged in the Surf."

"Well, too bad. It was either be smashed into the wall by a wave of water or get sliced to ribbons by leaves." The black-haired girl swallowed the pain-killers that were handed to her. "I wasn't interested in having either of us nurse five hundred cuts for the next few days—and besides—what's stopping them from scarring over?"

"Scared of battle scars? They're little trophies of their own," Lukxia teased, her eyes softening when Aretha shot her a glare. "But yeah, I wasn't particularly excited about nursing cuts all over my body." She paused, checking the time on her Pokétch. "We have about ten minutes until our next battle," she said. "We should head out in the next…" she paused. "Fifteen seconds."

"You're not allowed to leave until we see the results from the CT," Nema said firmly, placing her hands on her hips. "I'll have you disqualified for the rest of the night if you leave now." Aretha and Lukxia shared an exasperated look and sighed.

"You don't have to worry about them—they're right here." A brunette woman stepped into the room, a soft smile on her face. "You're just as crazy as Red," she laughed when she placed the scans onto a screen projector. "You somehow managed to avoid a concussion from your encounter with the Unova wall. Was it fun?"

"Very romantic," Aretha affirmed, her lips quirking up in a smile when the doctor threw her head back and laughed.

"Well, the most you'll have to endure are headaches for the next few days. Come back if they get progressively worse—or if they don't fade after three days." Nema stood up and smiled at the doctor.

"Thank you so much, Daisy," the blue-haired woman said.

"It's nothing," the doctor replied, waving at the inventor. "I should've known that my little brother was going to get into some sort of trouble during this tournament. He probably got too excited when he found out that he was going to be competing with the people who won medals from the two-mile event."

"Daisy," Blue warned, shooting his older sister a glare.

"Oh hush," she shot back, tapping him smartly on bridge of his nose. "This never would have happened if you knew exactly where your Exeggutor was. Well Aretha," she started, turning back to the black-haired girl, "you're free to go for now. I'll have some pain-killers sent over to you by tonight. There will be direction on the bottle, but as long as you don't take more than two pills every seven hours, you should be alright. Be sure that you've already eaten something before you take them." She smiled at Aretha. "Have fun with the rest of the Championship."

Just as they were about to head out, Red gave them an apologetic smile from the doorway. "You should've won," he murmured as Aretha squeezed past him.

"We could've," she replied.

* * *

By the time that the Gauntlet Challenges rolled around, Aretha's headache was becoming unbearable. She broke away from the trainer crowd as soon as the individual battles were over, ignoring the delicious smell of food that was drifting out of the cafeteria in favor of taking the rest of the night off. As she unlocked the door to her shared room, she mentally cursed herself for not finding Lukxia and asked the woman if she could grab a share of food for her.

She was half tempted to send Arky out with a message, but a Pokémon without a trainer would most definitely stir up a lot of confusion in the cafeteria. Instead, she curled up with the fire Pokémon on her bed, tucking her head into the crook of her Arcanine's elbow. She dozed there for a few seconds, reveling in the silky softness of Arky's fur and the soothing rumble coming from her chest.

Two more pops informed her that two more of her Pokémon had decided to jump out of their pokéballs and when the mattress dipped, two warm bodies slid up next to her. Aretha recognized the sharp, spicy scent of Nightshade and the intoxicating smell of his mate, Iridescence. The Umbreon and his Espeon mate curled up next to their owner, letting their purrs join in with Arky's rumbles. The vibrations relaxed the muscles in Aretha's body and she became boneless, sinking into sleep's clutches as the world around her filled with warmth and soothing tremors.

* * *

A golden-and-pink Pokémon fled, stardust trailing after her as she escaped into the night sky. Behind her, a dark, ominous shadow led chase, the cloying scent of death and darkness sticking to its frame. Once, the two of them had been able to balance one another out; the darkness that succumbed many unfortunate humans and Pokémon had always been dispelled by a single lunar wing. Despite its type advantage over her, Cresselia was always able to prevent herself from being overwhelmed, and in the centuries that they had coexisted, Darkrai had never gone out of its way to pursue her.

But a few nights ago, everything changed. Suddenly, it haunted her in every corner, every shadow of the night. The domain that had rightfully been under her jurisdiction was being turned against her as it chased her from sky to sky, region to region. She could no longer call Sinnoh her home as Darkrai attempted to envelop her every time she lingered in a particular area. It forced her to appear in the middle of the night although she only chose to visit travel the skies on the nights of the full moon. It forced her into abandoning everyone who fell victim to its nightmares and leaving them to die in perpetual darkness.

She could hear people shouting from behind her and she inclined her head to catch a glimpse of them. Were they going to stop Darkrai from catching her? Seven figures burst out of the forest below, each of them riding on separate Pokémon. Instead of attacking the New Moon Pokémon as she had hoped, they took its side, cutting through the night air with their wings. Cresselia's eyes narrowed in disappointment.

She had hoped that they would be compassionate—after all, how many humans had she saved from Darkrai's clutches? But no, it was undeniable how dangerous and selfish human beings were. They claimed to be the partner of Pokémon yet they continue to chase after legendaries—the heroes of the Pokémon race—for fame, power, and glory. As she crossed into the moon's beams, she studied the symbols that decorated each person's chests. There was a flurry of letters in various colors—some blue, others red, one even yellow. She would remember these symbols for the remainder of her life.

Twisting around to face her pursuers, Cresselia reared her head, slashing the sky into pieces with purple blades. With startled cries, the people dispersed, but Darkrai lifted its hand and created a shield of darkness around itself, protecting it from her attack. The sound of gunfire filled the air and suddenly a net was flung over her. With a distressed wail, the Moon Pokémon tossed her head, her limbs straining against the restraining against the netting. She heard the familiar sound of a pokéball enlarging and she began to thrash more violently against the net.

"Togekiss! Use Yawn!" Cresselia recoiled, but the Pokémon's attack quickly made her drowsy. In the back of her head, a voice screamed at her, urging her to escape and begging her to break away from the net. But it was no use, she could already feel herself slipping through the darkness, her wings starting to still as she was no longer in control of her body. "Quick! Someone capture her before she falls!" Lifting her head, Cresselia let one last desperate wail just as a capture capsule was tossed at her.

Suddenly, two arms came around her, dragging her into a vortex just before the flying pokéball came in contact with her body. She just barely caught a glimpse of a white-and-purple Pokémon gazing dispassionately down at her before she surrendered to the soothing hands of sleep.

The white-and-purple Pokémon glanced over his shoulder when a man in a white lab coat approached, just faintly acknowledging his partner's presence. "Just barely saved her, didn't we?" The man huffed, adjusting the tinted lenses perched on the bridge of his nose. "What exactly are those fools doing? Chasing after a legendary Pokémon like this…"

"The game's changed," another voice came in. The bespectacled man looked up just in time to see a brunet walk in, a Persian at his side. The purple-and-white Pokémon stiffened slightly, its eyes narrowing in distaste. "Suddenly these Pokéterrorist groups realize that a faster way to capture Pokémon would be to first conquer those who are considered legendary and are worshipped by regular Pokémon. Far from subtle, if you ask me." He paused. "But with the Hoenn Two-Part Championship going on right now, they've never had a better time to strike."

_Planning for another attempt to take over the world, are you?_ The purple-and-white Pokémon growled in annoyance, its tail lashing from side to side.

"Set aside our differences, Mewtwo," the brunet replied coolly. "The world is at stake, but with the three of us in exile…" his eyes trailed over the scientist who stood at the Pokémon's side. "There's not much that we can do at this moment besides impeding their plans and rescuing whatever Pokémon they are trying to catch."

_You will _not_ have any of the Pokémon we have saved. They are not for you to possess._

"Don't be ridiculous, Mewtwo. My desires have already been fulfilled a few years ago. All that I need now is all that I have."

"We aren't exactly in exile—it's just that the world thinks that we're all dead," the scientist corrected the brunet. "After all, nobody is expected to survive an active volcano." He paused, glancing at the Pokémon at his side. "Not even the great Mewtwo. The only thing that saved us was Persian's protect."

_Hmph_. The psychic Pokémon turned his head away. _That is beside the point._

"Leave it, Blaine. He won't acknowledge that I saved him," the brunet dismissed the frown on the scientist's face. "What concerns me right now is how they managed to convince Darkrai into fighting on their side. That Pokémon is a living terror—forcefully catching it will not deter that creature from sending one into an endless nightmare."

"I'm not an expert on Pokémon," Blaine started slowly, looking over Cresselia, "but I know for a fact that she's gone through a lot."

_The chase has taken months_, Mewtwo informed them. _Her wings are strained, the color of her skin is pale and sickly, and she carries the scars of someone who has been trying to escape under tight circumstances._

"From what I've heard from the legends, anyone who Darkrai is forced to work with will begin to develop severe paranoia and succumb into a fitful nightmare. It's arguable that even Cresselia's lunar wings would be able to save that person from Darkrai's powers," the brunet murmured. "But from what we've seen from Mewtwo's projections…the people beside the Pokémon are not harmed. They could easily be switched in and out with ease to avoid the effects of Darkrai's aura. However, their level of synchronization suggests that they are a specialized group that has worked side by side with Darkrai for at least the period of half a year."

"Half a year." Blaine shook his head in disbelief. "Just think how many more Pokémon they would've been able to take down with them."

_Far more than you'd believe_, Mewtwo huffed. _I have been visited frequently by…a bird, as you humans could call it. He informs me that Legendary Pokémon have been disappearing all over the map. His reports say that there is sign of scuffle, but never from just one trainer and one team of Pokémon. Several footprints. Marks showing that multiple Pokémon had been present at a single time._ He paused before adding, _the most recent disappearance is that of Palkia's._

"Palkia? Even the Pokégod of Space can't escape them?" The scientist felt the blood drain out of his face. "How recent has this been?"

_Roughly two weeks_, the Pokémon replied. _It seems that Darkrai has been pursuing multiple Legendary Pokémon at a time. It probably switched from Pokémon to Pokémon to see if it could catch the others off guard after leaving them alone for a while. A sense of false security, in a sense._

"A game of Persian and Rattata," the brunet mused. "A tricky concept unless you have the right pawns in play."

"We'll have to get out there soon," Blaine warned, leaning forward slightly. Hovering before him was a small mirror, its silver surface rippling from time to time. Mewtwo flicked his wrist and the reflector's image changed, depicting a crimson-eyed Pokémon leading a group of Pokémon behind him.

"Oh, don't worry about the timing," the brunet replied, leaning forward thoughtfully. "It'll come soon," he promised studying the Absol as he navigated through a dense forest. "Very soon indeed."

* * *

A/N: I just pulled a cliffie on you guys...

Anyway, I'm not really sure how to describe Aretha this point. Extremely competitive? Tries to be friendly/play the middleman? I don't know!

And for a quick clarification, Blue did not intend to actually attack Aretha and Lukxia with his Exeggutor. There was so much going on at once that he didn't realize how close his Pokemon were to the two opposing trainers.

Reader Shoutouts!

**kadesh2501 **- I would love to hear from you! Please review and tell me what you think about the story!

**alaskan anime girl - **How is your Pokefic going? Feel free to email me if you have anything to ask in particular.

**Someone** - Aretha's Umbreon has yet to poketelpathy with her because for some reason, it seems that only in situations where they are truly "connected" (a mental thing of sorts?) they can speak to one another mentally. I don't think the typing is a factor because Tramp is a dark type and he's managed to poketelepathy with her.

Yes, Aretha has a mom, but it's been mentioned earlier (the chapter before the relay race) that she isn't very close to her mother (because her mom works in the city and rarely has time to come home-also mentioned in the earlier chapter) and that her mom's boss would be bringing his family over. If it isn't clear-Aretha is an only child. There's going to be a hint about why Aretha is convinced that Madilyn's attitude meant that she wasn't ready for Pokemon, but I'll probably have to explain that too-since it's a bit subtle.

As for Xeno and Link, you'll learn more about them in the chapters to come. Clarification: Xeno is a close friend of Aretha's who works on the ranch/daycare and who lives there too. As for Link, Link is a distant cousin of Aretha who also lives at the daycare/ranch. Please note that I will jump back and forth between the words "ranch" and "daycare" to describe Frank's (Aretha's dad) business/job.

We're getting really close to the plot of the story that I wanted to write and a few warnings first: I will be changing the rating of this story because of dark elements that will probably bump this story to an "M". It's going to be due to violent themes and not sexual ones, so don't start freaking out on me. Once we hit the slightly darker themes, this story's going to be bumped to M in preparation for when we really hit the darkest of the dark. Please don't give up on this story for the rating change-it would break my heart.

R&R, guys! Since I actually ended up writing more chapters (I was on a roll yesterday!), I'll be posting one either tomorrow or later on today...or right after this one since I'm already on Fanfiction!


	12. Contest Championships

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

Hey guys, turns out that I have enough chapters (including the one I'm currently working on) to post a chapter every day until Christmas!

* * *

The dreams continued to plague her. Apocalypse appeared repeatedly, at times lashing out at her and at others, calling out to her, his crimson eyes flashing in fear. Aretha had been repeatedly awoken just a few hours after midnight each day—the times often alternating between Arky, Lukxia, and herself. On a few occasions, it was Luxkia's Luxray that had woken her, and strangely enough, the days that he shook her out of her dreams were often when her nightmares took their darkest turns.

After losing in the Master Beauty Contests with Arky, Aretha had broken down, so overwhelmed by all the stress that had been building up ever since she pushed her Absol away. She woke up and pushed through each day in an almost perfunctory and mechanical manner. In her battles, she became less patient, often times dominating the double battles and taking down opponents in singles within minutes. She resorted to hiding away in her room once she hit her limit of extra points that she could earn each few days from the Gauntlet Challenge, and often times Lukxia would bring her food from the cafeteria.

Slowly, over several bedside meals and moments curled up on their respective beds, Aretha began to tell her roommate her story, how she had gone on a frenzied journey after her Absol. "I haven't seen him in a long time," she whispered hollowly. "I'm terrified that some other trainer caught him while he's out there."

"That's not possible," Lukxia told her, sitting up slightly in her bed. "You're his trainer, aren't you?" When the black-haired girl didn't respond, the blonde woman shot her a horrified look. "Why? Why are you chasing after a Pokémon that isn't even yours?"

"Because I give all of my Pokémon a choice," Aretha grit out. "Arky, Tramp, and the others didn't have pokéballs until I was thirteen. There was a trainer who stopped by my dad's day care…he was the only trainer who decided to give me a few pokéballs and he took me out to try catching some Pokémon on my own." Her eyes glazed over slightly when she remembered how patient the man had been when he showed her how to catch Pokémon. "I didn't catch anything that day. We went back to my porch and he started to explain to me how the capsule system worked. He taught me how each pokéball had its own modifiers and how they could be used to gain an upper hand over certain Pokémon.

"Arky walked over while we were talking and pressed her nose to the pokéball in my hand." Aretha began shaking as she stared down at her hands, suddenly detached from reality. "I was so scared when I saw her disappear in a flash of red," she whispered. "So scared. I wanted to throw the pokéball—I really did—but I couldn't do anything. So I just watched as it twitched in my hand. Once. Twice. Three times." She closed her eyes. "And then _click_. It was all over. Jerry—his name was Jerry—was shocked. He said that he had never seen something like that happen before. He said that he'd never seen a Pokémon go so willingly into a pokéball fully healed, unaffected by status effects, and into the capture capsule such ease.

"We tested it over and over again with different Pokémon. Nightshade was the next one. He was interested the second that he saw Arky disappear into the pokéball. Before I knew it, most of my Pokémon had allowed themselves to be captured just to satisfy their curiosity of discovering how it felt to be in a pokéball." Aretha bit her lip and opened her eyes. "When I sent them out, I was scared that they would regret being captured. But all they did was crowd up to me. Then Jerry explained—he said that my Pokémon loved me enough to go into a pokéball. He told me that the capture system was almost like finalizing the partnership—the friendship between me and my Pokémon.

"I've never thrown a pokéball at a Pokémon before. I've never battled any Pokémon that I wanted to catch. All I've done is hold out a pokéball and hope that they want to start a friendship with me."

"And it's worked every time?" Lukxia asked carefully. Aretha nodded, her eyes slipping closed again.

"Every single time," she whispered. At that moment, Nightshade leapt onto her bed, the strap of her bag secured in his mouth. "Even Hak." When she looked up at her roommate, the blonde woman was startled to note that her eyes were red again. It seemed that whenever the black-haired girl was distressed or felt particularly emotional at a point in time, her eyes would turn a bold auburn-blood-red color.

"Hak?" Lukxia echoed. Aretha dipped her hand into her bag and returned with an ultra-ball in her hand. Flicking her wrist, the capsule burst open to reveal a glittering Raikou, his golden tail shimmering in the lamplight. The blonde woman felt her jaw drop slightly when the lightning beast turned toward Aretha, purring low in his throat as he rubbed his cheek against hers.

"I came across him while I was looking for Apocalypse," the younger girl admitted, a distracted but fond smile crossing her face as she stroked the legendary's face. "I offered him a pokéball…and he accepted. I have yet to introduce him to my family back at my dad's daycare center, but I'm sure he'll take with it nicely." Lukxia stared at the girl as she leaned into her Raikou, a wave of disbelief washing over her. How it was possible that a legendary— one of the proudest of all Pokémon— would bow his head and submit himself to a young girl who had never captured a Pokémon for the sake of a capture? Had he chosen her, in a way?

But seeing how the two fit together, she found it difficult to explain their strange bond in any other way. _Just who are you, Aretha?_

* * *

The world seemed to crumble from underneath her as she pulled the phone away from her ear. Across the line, the silence was almost deafening as her dad allowed her to absorb the news. She let out a choked noise, shaking as she clasped a hand over her mouth, trying to hold in her sobs. "_Let it all out, Aretha. Demetra wouldn't want you to bottle it all inside._" Those words were all it took and her floodgates burst open. She sunk to the bottom of the booth, her sobs bouncing off of the walls as she curled up and broke down.

She could faintly hear her dad sniffling and taking shaky breaths as she cried. Before she knew it, the phone was pulled out of her hand and a hushed voice began to speak to her dad. She numbly heard the call being ended before two arms scooped her up, quickly shocking her out of her misery. She began stammering about how she was heavy and that the person holding her shouldn't go out of their way with her as she tried to struggle out of their arms, but they continued to hold her to their chest, cradling her as if she was a child who had just experienced a nightmare.

It was a nightmare, in a sense, as Aretha quieted and allowed herself to be carried to her dorm. She could feel people's stares burning into her skin and she turned her head away shamefully, burying her face into the crook of her carrier's neck. She heard the door to her room being unlocked and felt herself being carefully set down on her bed. The black-haired girl sniffled in protest when a blanket was draped over her shoulders and she was quickly pulled into a familiar embrace.

Within seconds she was out like a light, her brain shutting down as she grieved, wrapping her every thought around the news her dad delivered.

* * *

Lukxia gazed sympathetically at the girl who was curled up against her. She had been on her way to the cafeteria when suddenly the people around her stepped aside. Confused, she had glanced to her side, a wave of shock crashing into her as she recognized her roommate being tucked into someone's arms. When she looked up, she was startled to recognize the man carrying Aretha as Zenith. The Hoenn Champion had been surprised to see her as well, but offered her a smile when she quickly informed him of her relationship with the crying girl and led him to her room.

Once they were situated, Aretha was tucked into the crook of her neck and began babbling about how someone very dear to her had passed. Lukxia was barely able to catch any of it, but Zenith held her hand the entire time and nodded understandingly. Before long, the black-haired girls' eyes had locked onto him and suddenly the blonde woman realized just how vulnerable her roommate was at that moment. But as quickly as Aretha began talking, she stopped with a sigh and proceeded to fall into a troubled sleep on Lukxia's shoulder.

"Did you catch everything that she said?" She asked Zenith apologetically, offering him an apologetic smile when he looked up at her.

"For the most part," he replied with a nod. "It seems that one of the Pokémon that she had grown up with had just recently passed. If I can remember, it was a Venasaur by the name of Demetra. She said something about how Demetra had been her dad's Pokémon and how she had practically taken care of…"

"Aretha," Lukxia provided.

"…Aretha ever since she was a child," Zenith finished. His eyebrow crinkled in sympathy. "I understand how she feels. One of my close friends is reaching the end of his life as well. It won't be long before I have to say goodbye to him."

Lukxia watched the Hoenn Champion as he stroked Aretha's wrist absentmindedly, feeling a wave of calm compassion and gratefulness wash over her. She had never imagined that the trainer would be so understanding and gentle—she had figured that he had created a persona for the media to rave over and that his true personality was bitter and selfish. But looking upon this person now, she realized that the persona he showed the media was the same person he truly was inside. Although he seemed quite distanced on television, she could clearly see how concerned he was for Aretha despite how little he knew about her. If she didn't know better, she would've said that they didn't even know the other existed.

"Do you want me to watch over her?" He asked suddenly. "She'll be fine with me."

"I don't know…" Lukxia trailed off, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She originally had plans to meet up with one of her colleagues, but she had considered missing that meeting in order to take care of Aretha.

"Please. I don't want you to go out of your way to take care of her while you're obviously busy. Since today's event was canceled because of the heavy rain, I've got more than enough time on my hands to care for her." The blonde woman was startled by the sudden flash of selfishness that she felt when she saw his thumb rub comforting circles on the back of Aretha's hand. She cared for the girl, of course, but she never imagined that she would get so defensive of her roommate. For some reason, a small part of her refused to let Zenith take care of the young girl in her place, stubbornly deciding that Aretha was her ward and that she could take care of her without anyone's help.

In the end, logic won out and Lukxia nodded, carefully sliding out from underneath Aretha, careful not to disturb the slumbering girl. "Call me if anything happens, okay?" She asked him, thrusting a hastily-scribbled phone number at him.

"Of course," he told her just as she rushed out the door.

* * *

Startled was not the word to describe how Aretha felt when she woke up the next morning and saw a man sleeping at her bedside, a blanket draped over his shoulders. She had nearly jumped her skin when she first saw him, but relaxed slightly when she noticed how Arky had curled up around him. If the Arcanine trusted the man enough to sleep next to him, then Aretha would trust her Pokémon and relax in his presence.

A low whining sound alerted her that Arky was awake and suddenly a cold nose was at her side, prodding her cheek and her neck. "I'm okay, girl," Aretha soothed, pressing a kiss to the Pokémon's jaw. "Just mourning." The Arcanine let out a low keening noise as if say that she too, was grieving for their lost friend. The black-haired girl wrapped her arms around her Pokémon, closing her eyes as she pulled up memories of her childhood.

Demetra had been a gift to her father when he formally took over their family's daycare business. He had raised her from a Bulbasaur to a Venasaur, doting on her and taking care of her every need. Everyone in his family expected the Pokémon to grow up spoiled and selfish, but they were pleasantly surprised to see just how selfless and generous Demetra was. _I wish I had the album of my baby photos,_ Aretha thought forlornly as she stroked Arky's fur. There were pictures of her being cradled in Demetra's vines, curled up against the Venasaur's side, and resting under the huge pink blossom that decorated the Pokémon's back.

Demetra had been like a second mother to Aretha—standing in as that motherly figure when her biological parent wasn't there to take care of her. It broke her heart to know that she hadn't been there in the Venasaur's final moments and that the grass Pokémon had been asking for the black-haired girl at her deathbed. There was a certain cry that Demetra associated with each of her loved ones—a soothing rumble for her children, a sharp bark for Aretha's dad, and three chirps for Aretha. According to her dad, the Venasaur had been chirping until the moment that she left the world.

The black-haired girl sniffled and drew her head into Arky's fur, taking comfort in the Arcanine's warmth. She felt the bed shift slightly and looked up blearily to see the man on her bedside straighten up slightly. "You're awake," he noted, a relieved expression crossing his face. "That's good." Pausing, he cocked his head to the side. "Do you want to talk about it?" Aretha gazed at the black-haired man and before she knew it, Demetra's life story poured out of her without a single moment of hesitation.

The man had held her hand and squeezed it throughout the entirety of the narration and he nodded reassuringly whenever her voice cracked. Once she was finished, he sat on her bed and stroked her hair, his hands gentle and forgiving. Aretha leaned into the touch, subconsciously remembering how much this man's hands reminded her of her dad's—tender, understanding, and warm. Accepting. In the back of her mind, she recognized him, remembering how that he had spoken to her after one of her first contests.

"Zenith," Aretha whispered, distracted by the tender caress of his hand. "Thank you," she said, coloring slightly as she pulled away from him. She let out a shaky laugh. "Sorry for the inconvenience. Gosh, this must've been embarrassing for you when you got me out of the booth…"

"Hey." The black-haired girl broke off, gazing curiously at Zenith as he rested his hand gently on the crown of her head. "Don't think too much about it. All that matters right now is how you feel right now." He smiled gently at her. "Do you feel better?" She hesitated and he gently turned her face so she was looking at him. "Don't lie," he told her, "how do you feel?"

"Empty," she admitted. "But determined." She met his gaze just as something welled up deep inside of her chest. "I want to battle. I want to win this all. I want to lay whatever trophies I win from this championship on Demetra's resting place because I need to show her that I never stopped thinking about her. That I won this for her." She searched his eyes, trying to find any kind of disapproval, disgust—anything. But instead she found tender understanding, compassion, and encouragement.

"Then go and win this all," he whispered. "Take the title of the Champion from me and make her proud."

* * *

The room before Zenith was pitch black—he could hear the slight shuffling of people beyond the stage and the three subtle taps against the wood floor to signal that the crew was ready to begin. Taking in a deep breath, he adjusted the untied ribbon around his neck and slacked his hold on the black blanket in his hands. He heard the thud of the spotlights turn on and he saw a sliver of light poking through the black fabric. The crowd fell silent and his mind cleared and with practiced ease, he began his performance.

"_Un. Deux. Trois!_" Releasing one end of the black blanket, he pulled hard with his other hand, revealing him and his Ninetails at his side. Tossing the sheet into the air, he pointed at the fluttering fabric. "Flamethrower!" The Pokémon's eyes glittered as a stream of fire left her mouth, devouring the blanket greedily. To the side, stagehands began to throw fabric-covered balls at him. He caught each of them, juggling them carefully as he nodded at Cosmic. "Fire spin!" As the Pokémon executed her move, he began to throw the balls into the stream of fire, allowing them to travel up the flames until the fabric was burnt to ashes.

A loud popping noise filled the air as small fireworks came down around them, signaling the end of their performance. Zenith bowed to the cheering crowd and lead Cosmic off stage, nodding to the next contest performer. When they reached the loading dock, the black-haired man let out a breathless laugh and stroked his Ninetail's head lovingly. Their show could have been easily mistaken for a magic trick, but hopefully it was enough to win the crowd over. He had been pleasantly surprised when he realized that the spotlights were so bright that he could barely see anything beyond the crowd, making it a lot easier for him to perform.

_If we win appeals, we won't have to risk battling twice_, he thought patting Cosmic's head absentmindedly. The Contest Championships had been set up so that there were only three competitors per condition and whoever performed best during appeals were not required to face off against his rivals until after one of them "won" their battle. _Let's hope for the best, I suppose._

* * *

"Going all out?" May asked Aretha as the black-haired girl rushed onto the loading dock.

"Yeah," she replied breathlessly, straightening up slightly. "Is the person ahead still going?"

"They'll be done in a bit," the brunette replied. "I can go out next if you need a moment to catch your breath."

"Go ahead," Aretha told her, gesturing toward the stage. May smiled at her before sending out her Sceptile. True to her word, the woman had won the next cool contest and quickly joined the black-haired girl at the Contest brunette fussed over her Pokémon for a few moments and she let out a grudging huff when she heard the round of applause the person before her received.

"Well, I'll be off now." She nodded at the younger girl before heading down the corridor leading up to the stage. In a few seconds, the person who had just finished arrived, breathless and flushed as he grinned at his Ampharos. Aretha offered him a fleeting smile before she adjusted the cloak on her shoulders and released Tramp from his pokéball. The bite Pokémon shook out his fur and fluffed up nicely, a pleased rumble coming from the back of his throat. Aretha smiled nervously at him touching her hair tentatively. When she was heading out this morning, Lukxia had held her back and insisted on styling it. The blonde woman took kept her nearly ten minutes overtime and Aretha that she was able to arrive before being called to the stage.

Luckily, the hair that her roommate had stressed over was still intact despite the fact that she had been sprinting as fast as she could to where the Contest Championships were taking place. She looked forlornly at her cloak before letting out a soft sigh. After her performance with Tramp, it was unlikely that her mother would ever buy her another one, but if it was going to help boost the Mightyena's appeal today, Aretha couldn't bring herself to care too much. Taking the Pokémon's head in her hands, she pressed her forehead to his. "We're going to do just fine," she whispered, half to herself and half to him. "We'll win this for Demetra." Tramp let out a low noise of agreement and licked her nose just as she pulled away.

The crowd roared from the stage and Aretha quickly recognized her cue to start heading toward where she would be performing. She stepped into the corridor, gazing at the velvety black curtains that flanked her on both sides. As she hurried down, she passed May, whose eyes were twinkling brightly. "Good luck," the brunette mouthed, tapping Aretha on the back. The black-haired girl tossed a smile over her shoulder and was just barely able to make out where she was to stand in the darkness. Luckily, the lights at the loading dock were dim, so adjusting to the dark was fairly easy.

Drawing in a sharp breath, Aretha slipped the hood over her head and lifted her face to the sky, praying that Demetra would help her through this. She quickly lowered head when she heard three knocks against the stage floor and steeled her shaking nerves. The spotlight startled her when it flickered on, but she quickly steadied herself and threw a hand out. Strangely enough, she couldn't see past the stage—the entire stadium seemed to be pitch-black. "Dark Pulse!" Tramp lowered himself slightly to the ground and raised his hackles as waves of darkness rolled from his body and spread across the stage. Unclasping her cloak, she threw it into the air, pointing up at it. "Shadow Ball!" In quick succession, the Mightyena sent five Shadow Balls against her cloak before leaping up after them.

The second that the purple orbs came in contact with the fabric, Tramp angled his body and waited for her command. "Iron Tail!" His tail glowed silver and he slashed through the cloak, effectively cutting through the Shadow Balls in the process. Purple mist in various shades dispelled in all directions as gravity began to pull the Mightyena back to the stage. "Spin!" Keeping the move going, he twisted in the air and tore the mist open with his move. When he landed on the stage, Aretha waited a few seconds for the shredded haze to drift down around them. "Sucker Punch!" Tramp stamped the ground hard, the force of his blow just enough to dispel the remnants of his Shadow Ball without breaking the stage.

Her chest heaved up and down as she stared at her Mightyena, hardly believing that the two of them had executed their performance without any difficulties. Tramp huffed proudly and lashed his tail from side to side, his red eyes glittering in triumph. The roar that came from the audience nearly made Aretha jump, but she regained her composure and waved shyly into the darkness. Nodding at Tramp, she led him off stage, just barely stopping herself from shaking. _All this excess adrenaline is getting to me_, she thought. _I'm not even halfway through this Contest Championship and I'm already giddy!_

"You were great," May gushed, pulling Aretha from her thoughts and into her arms. "You'll probably win appeals this round. Although," she sighed with a pout, "it would be much nicer if I only had to battle once. You know, and leave the battling up to you?" The black-haired girl smiled and was about to say something when the other competitor with the Ampharos spoke up.

"After that kind of performance, I doubt she'll have to battle," he informed them. He smiled hesitantly. "I'm Phil," he introduced himself. "Kalos."

"May," the brunette replied, a small grin crossing her face. "Hoenn."

"Aretha," the black-haired girl introduced herself. "Hoenn."

"Of course Hoenn trainers are in the Championship," he joked, "after all, it's your region, isn't it?"

"All the more reason to train harder," May replied easily. "But Aretha here is a beast. It's her first ever contest," she boasted. The black-haired girl glanced uneasily at her friend—was it that fun to brag about people that you knew?

"First contest?" Phil echoed. "You're amazing!"

"It's nothing—" Aretha started, but she was quickly cut off by the announcer up front.

"_Okay! Our judges have made their decisions! Will all competitors please come up to the stage?_" The three of them shared uneasy looks before heading out and Aretha felt her eyes sting at how bright everything was. When May took her hand and squeezed it, the black-haired girl nearly burst out in laughter. For God's sake, they were just announcing who was going to be battling first, not who had won the contest in the end. But she managed to hold her giggles in to avoid embarrassing herself in front of everyone and instead settled for a small smile.

"_The two trainers who will be competing first…_" How melodramatic. Aretha bit her lip to stop from laughing. It was an extremely tense situation and it most definitely was intense, but the sheer absurdity of it all on how trivial it was…hilarious. "_Are May Birch and Phil Nettler!_" The man mouthed "told you so" to her and smiled when the announcer dismissed Aretha. "_Aretha Redwing, you may prepare for your upcoming battle._" She nodded and turned away, giving May's hand a squeeze before heading off stage.

_I suppose they don't want me getting an advantage over the others_, Aretha thought as she and Tramp returned to the loading dock. _Or at least, they don't want me intimidating May or Phil. _A smile quirked up at the sides of her mouth. She had a Napoleon complex of sorts, but the thought of actually being an intimidating figure in the competition was amusing to her. So intimidating, that it almost sent a new wave of adrenaline rushing through her veins. _Didn't May say that there was a screen back here to see what was happening on stage? So much for keeping me from having the advantage_, Aretha thought, rolling her eyes as she sought out the legendary screen that the brunette had been talking about.

She found it quickly enough and recognized why she hadn't noticed it the first time—the black screen blended very easily with the surrounding velvet curtains. It was turned off, of course, but there were no stagehands hanging around to make sure that she couldn't watch. Aretha shrugged and pressed the power button, stepping back from the screen to get a better perspective. If anyone caught her watching, she would say that she found it on. She grinned slyly. Or she could somehow put the blame on her Gengar and have him escape into the darkness. There wasn't anything more that the ghost Pokémon loved aside from playing the poltergeist.

On screen, May and Phil took their respective places on the stage and faced one another. Within moments, the starting whistle was blown and the two trainers whirled into action. May had grown stronger since she had last battled her, Aretha noted. Phil, on the other hand, was a figure in the dark. She would have to take time to watch him carefully. The two trainers clashed hard, May's Sceptile meeting Phil's Ampharos halfway. Neither of them had type effectiveness, but Aretha had quickly learned from a fairly embarrassing moment during her Master Contest that the goal of the battle section of the contest was not to knock the opponent out. The two Pokémon danced around, each waiting for their trainers' commands as they scoped one another out.

_Zap Cannon_, Aretha thought as she watched the Ampharos charge forward. She faintly remembered watching trainers duke it out in the few acres of her dad's Pokémon Daycare Center. How many battles had she seen by now? Her earliest memories of watching trainers battle had been when she was four years old—so she had been watching trainers battle for approximately twelve years. At some point in time, a man who called himself a Move Tutor offered her free subscriptions during one of his stays. _We were essentially joined at the hip during his stay_, Aretha recalled fondly. He had taught her how to identify each move and gave her one of his copies of _The Moveset Guide_. _I wonder how many moves there are now_, Aretha thought. _I stopped counting at four hundred._

"_Congratulations, trainers!_" She jolted out of her thoughts and felt a wave of horror wash over her. She had been too busy reminiscing that she had forgotten about watching the battle. Leaping to her feet, she frantically turned off the screen and rushed over to the corner of the stage. Tramp whuffed at her and flicked his tail, as if scolding her for not paying attention. She glanced apologetically at him and quickly turned her attention back to the stage. "_The trainer who will move on to battle Aretha Redwing is Phil Nettler!_"

_Great_, she groaned inwardly as she watched the two contestants bow to the crowd. _This is what I get for not paying attention._ "_Alright, we'll let Phil Nettler restore his Pokémon before continuing on with the contest. Everyone please take this break to go to the restroom, grab some food, or get some water. The contest will resume in twenty minutes._" The two trainers both looked pleasantly surprised to see her waiting by the corridor leading to the loading stage and Aretha's smile tightened when she saw the shocked expression on Phil's face.

"I lost," May offered with a hesitant laugh.

"You probably did amazing nonetheless," Aretha tried to reassure her. "I wasn't there to watch, but I'm sure you still earned a lot of points." At her words, Phil relaxed slightly. She felt a twinge of guilt at her initial hopes to see the brunet's battle style, but she was almost thankful for being distracted by her memories during the battle.

"Don't worry about me gaining too many points during our battle," the man told her. "They won't add any more points to my score unless it increases beyond what I won with May." He smiled curtly at the two of them. "I'm heading off to the Pokémon center for a bit," he said before leaving May and Aretha alone. Once he was out of sight, the brunette grabbed the younger girl and pulled her to the other side of the loading dock.

"Did you really not see anything?" She hissed, a dangerous look in her eyes. "If anyone saw you watching, you could've been disqualified."

"I didn't watch it," Aretha reassured her. _I only turned on the screen_, she added mentally, but she knew that May would've taken it the wrong way. Some truths were best to be hidden, she decided. "Shouldn't you be heading over to the Pokémon center to heal up Sceptile too?"

"No, I have a few healing potions on me," the woman replied, turning to spray her Pokémon with one. "It would be cheaper to head over to the Pokémon center, but I just want to sit here and relax for a few moments." She shook her head in disbelief. "God, Phil is an amazing contest battler. He knew how to trick Sceptile into landing in certain places…"

"Are you allowed to talk to me about that?" Aretha asked hesitantly. May stared at her, as if suddenly seeing her in a different light.

"Right," she said hastily. "Well, good luck." She bit her lip before adding, "You'll need it. He's not like any other trainer I've competed against. Not even Zenith."

* * *

A wave of adrenaline washed over her as she headed onto stage, barely even hearing the announcer speak out to the crowd. Everything around her faded until all she could recognize was the person standing before her and his Pokémon. In this moment, nothing else besides battling stood in her mind—something that terrified her but acted as her anchor at the same time. She only knew how to battle. Somehow—just somehow she managed to win all those contests because all she was capable of doing was battling hard and battling rough.

She completely depended on Tramp's senses. She didn't care about the contest battling standards; she didn't care about the judges and their points; she didn't care about anything other than the sheer rush of the battle. _Think of it like the training sessions that you have with everyone_, Aretha told herself. _You're trying to startle the opponent. You don't actually need to hit them. Try not to hit them, but hit close._ _You don't want to hurt them._ Back on the ranch, the most that Aretha's dad had to a Pokémon center was the PC that he had at the very front of his daycare center. It was a pain to switch Pokémon in and out of the box when they usually just stayed out in the few acres that the Redwing family owned and often times Aretha just let her Pokémon recover by letting them sleep off the damage. Over time, she taught her Pokémon not to aim directly at their sparring partner and rather a few degrees off. This way, they could train for longer without actually knocking the other out.

The first signal that told her that the battle had begun was when Tramp leapt in front of her, fluffing up defensively. "Thunder Punch!" Phil's Ampharos was charging at them, one arm pulled back and sparking with electricity. Aretha and her Mightyena stood their ground and the black-haired girl watched as the electric Pokémon neared. Just as the Ampharos was about to land his blow, Tramp twisted out of the way and dove behind the sheep Pokémon. Aretha's eyes locked on the electric Pokémon's tail and her Mightyena's jaws locked around the appendage.

Memories of her first contest battle against May flashed through her head. Scenes of Tramp grabbing ahold of Sceptile's arm before tossing him into the air—Aretha watched as her Pokémon flung the Ampharos across the stage, letting out a satisfied grunt when the electric sheep barely landed on its feet. "Thunder!"

"Dodge!" Tramp darted forward, just barely missing each bolt of lightning as they crashed down on him. "Dark Pulse!" The Ampharos recoiled in surprise when the Mightyena stopped before it and leapt forward as ominous purple waves radiated out of the bite Pokémon's body. "Iron Tail!" Tramp slid to the floor and swept his glowing tail around it a circle, forcing the opposing Pokémon to jump to avoid it. Flipping over quickly onto his back, the Mightyena kicked, catching the airborne Ampharos in the small of his back and sending him toward Aretha.

"Thunder Punch!" The electric Pokémon was on his feet quickly enough and came at Tramp, his arms shooting out in succession. The black-haired girl felt a jolt of electricity go through her body when a few of the punches landed on Tramp.

"Sucker Punch!" Ducking underneath the next punch, one of the Mightyena's legs shot out and caught the Ampharos in the chest. The Pokémon let out a startled gurgling sound before tumbling on the stage. "Shadow Ball!" Several of them were released, one after the other, as they all dissipated around the electric Pokémon. Skidding to a stop before the winded opponent, Tramp waited for his trainer's next command. "Iron Tail!" His tail glowed and he swept low again, gathering the leftover haze from his earlier move and spraying it over the Ampharos. The Mightyena was about to unleash another move when a sharp whistle cut through the air and Aretha realized that the time that was set aside for their battle had ended.

The two contestants stared at one another, their chests heaving from the intensity of the battle. The roar of the audience was what jolted both of them out of their stupor and they both dazedly gazed out into the darkness. "_That was an amazingly intense battle! Now, we'll let our judges go over the battles today and then decide who wins in the end! Contestants, you are free to return to the loading dock._" The two trainers automatically obeyed the underlying command in the announcer's words and retreated, still winded. When they returned backstage, May was staring at the two of them, seemingly speechless for once.

Instead, the three trainers resorted to a staring contest, each of them switching the direction they gazed from time to time. Clearing her throat slightly, Aretha tried to break the silence, but her mouth dried out when the other two contestants turned their gazes onto her. The black-haired girl felt her Mightyena brush past her and touch noses with Phil's Ampharos, who looked tuckered out but satisfied. May's Sceptile huffed irritably at the three trainers and went to join the other two Pokémon, shaking his head in exasperation. It seemed that humans thought too much for their own good—they should learn from their Pokémon to just accept what comes their way.

"_Contestants, please return to the stage! The judges have a few words of wisdom to share with all of you._" It took a few minutes for each of them to process this information and each of them filed out of the loading dock with their Pokémon close behind. This time, Aretha was the one to take both contestants' hands as they stepped onto the stage. Phil squeezed their joint hands and May tossed a hesitant smile at both of them. The head judge that had been introduced at the very beginning of the Two-Part Championship—Kristo Delano, if Aretha remembered correctly—stood up and shuffled his papers before smiling at the three contestants before him. Beside the black-haired girl, Phil let out an unimpressed huff. The papers had just been for show, Aretha decided by the slightly exasperated expression on the man's face.

"We would like to thank all three of our competitors for their performances and their battles today," the head judge began, "They have provided us all with a spectacular show and they have proved to each and every one of us why they each won a Master Contest. As they battled and performed their appeals, the strength of their bond between themselves and their Pokémon were easily revealed to all of us. Hence, we the judges would like to have a round of applause for each of our courageous performers." The crowd burst into cheers and whistling and Kristo smiled at the three trainers.

"However, we judges will not be giving our decision today," he said, earning a few disbelieving groans from the audience. Aretha felt May's grip slacken slightly and the confused expression on Phil's face told her that neither of them had been aware that this would happen. "We will announce the winner of the Contest Championship tomorrow, where the Champion of the Battle Championship will also be announced. Please join us here tomorrow at exactly 10 o'clock to find out who will be named the Champion of this contest. Thank you." He bowed to everyone and the stagehands on the corner of the stage hissed for the stunned competitors to return the gesture to the crowd.

Dazed, the three of them obliged before being quickly directed offstage by the announcer. Aretha faintly heard the announcer say something to the crowd, but his voice quickly faded as they headed onto the loading dock. "What are they doing?" May demanded, suddenly finding her voice when they were backstage. "They're supposed to tell us who won the Championship!"

"Suspense," Phil growled, stalking over to the couch by the not-so-conspicuous screen that had been turned on by the stagehands so they could watch what was happening on stage. "They want it all for suspense. So dramatic. Always wanting everyone to sit on the edge of their seats and let the rest of us—who are actually competing—pull our hair out worrying about who wins in the end," he spat, crossing his arms.

Aretha stared at the two competitors in shock—she had never expected the two of them to blow up over the delayed results. Then again, she had been both a battler and a contestant during this competition, so she often forgot about contest results whenever she stepped into the Battle Stadiums for competitive battles. She was about to open her mouth to reassure the two of them that everything would be alright when May's voice cut through the tense atmosphere. "Hey, what's with that Absol?" _Absol?_ Aretha's head shot up and for a split second, she thought the brunette had been imagining things. However, when her eyes locked onto a crimson gaze and a slightly agitated black-and-white Pokémon, she felt her blood run cold. "Where's its owner? It's not supposed to be back here."

Suddenly, the disaster Pokémon turned and fled, pushing through the velvet curtains in his haste. "Wait!" Aretha heard herself shout before her feet carried her after him. As she chased after the Absol she mentally cursed herself. Of course she wasn't going to be able to catch up to Apocalypse! Who ever heard of a human outrunning an Absol? Just when her legs began to scream in protest, a huffing sound to her right caught her attention. She turned her head slightly and saw Tramp running beside her, her bag strap secured tightly in his jaws. She slowed down slightly and took the bag from him, ruffling around until she found two familiar pokéballs under her hands. "Watch over them, Tramp!" She told her Mightyena, referring to the Pokémon who were waiting in the bag pockets.

As she sent Hak from his pokéball, she heard a cry of confirmation from Tramp and she tossed him a grateful smile as she leapt onto the Shiny Raikou's back. The two of them loped outside, storming down the path that was created by startled trainers who had parted in order to let them pass. "Is that a _Raikou_?"

"Is that a _Shiny Raikou_?" She heard someone ask in response.

"Quick—someone take a picture!"

"Hey, is that one of the contestant's on its back?" Cursing under her breath, Aretha squeezed Hak's sides, hoping to escape the crowd before they managed to take the picture.

* * *

A/N: Am I sorry to make Aretha go somewhat crazy? Yes, in several ways I am. I'm not sure if this is obvious, but every single Absol mentioned so far in this story has been Apocalypse. I'm tying the pieces together~

Wow! A lot of page breaks with this chapter! I had a bit of fun writing the contests in this chapter because I really got to deviate from the original contests and because I got to base it off of this manga called "Plastic Girl" that I'm extremely fond of. Something that amused me while I was watching random Pokemon anime episodes (I don't follow it now because Ash is a tool, but I decided to see how the new series were faring...not nearly as awesome as the first few, I have to say): every time the trainer yells "dodge!", their Pokemon is miraculously able to dodge the attack...with the exception of the move psychic. Because honestly, how the hell do you dodge a move that is supposed to pick you up and throw you against the wall? It's a completely mental move...

Anyway, moving onto reader shoutouts! (Actually, I have a favor to ask all of you readers. Please please **_Please_** encourage your friends and anyone else you know to read this story-you've all been great for me so far, but the number of people reading this story is depressing...)

**Someone** - Rated M is too dangerous? Maybe I should consider changing the ratings on all my other fics...Anyway, I'll take what you said into consideration and just keep this rating. As for Aretha's Pokemon team, I haven't mentioned her Swampert, but she has far more Pokemon than just Arky, Tramp, Hak, Nightshade, and Paladin. Honestly, she has an entire ranch-full of Pokemon. You'll learn of her other Eeveelutions soon enough as well.

As for the battles, I wanted to point out just how dangerous they could get from time to time...the game makes it impossible to have the trainer have a HP bar because it's not a IRL (in real life) battle and the danger of actually being hit from the opponent's attacks isn't real. I'll probably be exploring Aretha's true battle style in the later chapters...she's pretty engaged, if you ask me.

As for your prediction, I'll leave it up to a little more speculation...but don't worry, I'll give you more plot when Christmas comes along. Right now, we're just trying to get the tensions going until we finally get the powder-keg to blow up.

I'm not sure if I've said anything about this earlier, but this fanfic is based off of the Adventures Manga, some references to the (pretty sh-bad [since I'm not really sure what your age groups are, I'll try to lay off of the bad words from here on out...]) anime, and parts of the games that I've actually played. Since I only have three somewhat OC characters based off of the male sprites in three generations, I'm sure you can assume that I've only played three generations. I have yet to play in Unova and Kalos (because 3 DS things are expensive for someone like me!) and I can't find any online emulators that will enable me to play the games without having to download password after password for a game that doesn't even work right. So, sorry if you were hoping to see a little bit of the newer generations here!

R&R, everyone! Try and help me spread this story and get it a few more readers!


	13. A Different Perspective

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!

* * *

Hak's muscles bunched underneath Aretha and she lowered herself as far as she could as he leapt. They seemed to be airborne for what felt like eternity, she decided, as the two of them finally began to descend from their leap. Startled yells came out from behind her and she heard a few pokéballs being opened. A wave of fear washed over her at the thought of trainers chasing after her and make it more difficult for her to track down her Absol. Although Hak was much faster than Apocalypse, Aretha had only ridden the Raikou a few times and had yet to adapt to his long strides and his leaps. Also, by the way Apocalypse weaved through the forest suggested that he was already fairly acquainted with his surroundings whereas Hoenn stood as new territory for Hak, who was native to Johto.

Sometime during the chase, Aretha sent her Riolu from his pokéball, just barely grabbing ahold of him before he was left behind. "Apocalypse—slow down!" She shouted after the fleeing Absol, mentally begging the Raikou to run faster. The legendary beast hesitated for a second before letting out a ferocious roar, startling various forms of pokélife all around them. A few Pokémon leapt out in Apocalypse's path and he skidded for a bit before leaping over them. She heard a few cries from behind her, obviously from the Pokémon and their trainers who were pursuing her and Hak in order to snap a picture of the Raikou. She scowled and twisted around slightly, her Riolu quickly leaping into action.

She pointed in a general direction to help him steady his aim and gave the command. "Quartz, Aura Sphere!" Just as the first pursuer appeared out of the undergrowth on a Rapidash, the Riolu released a large blue orb in his direction, sending the Pokémon and its trainer tumbling backwards.

"What the—Riolus don't know how to use Aura Sphere!" She heard the man splutter when he recovered from the blow. She ignored him and pointed Quartz in different directions, commanding him to execute the move in succession, eventually creating so much debris that the trainers pursuing them quickly disappeared behind torn up undergrowth and splintered trees. When she quickly turned around to face the front again, she could help but glance at her Riolu, a stab of pain going through her when she saw the scar that decorated his shoulder.

He had been a gift from one of her father's friends—the brunet who had taught her about battling and rare Pokémon. The very man who eventually revealed his identity as one of the most dangerous people in all of history and one of the largest threats to Pokémon safety in the world. She grit her teeth how he had presented Quartz to her, hostile and broken. It was his parting gift to her—and the next month, he had disappeared off the face of the earth. She had been tempted to abandon the Riolu, but the second he flinched away from her hands, she realized just how much she wanted to fix his broken spirit.

He had been tested on, Aretha had deduced so many years ago. After recording his moveset, she had called the man known as the Move Tutor and he came over the next morning, breathless and in disbelief. _"It's not possible for a Riolu to know how to use Aura Sphere!"_ He had shouted when he watched the baby Pokémon execute the move. _"It must have been evolved first! That's the only logical explanation! But how did it return to its baby form?"_ Later on that night, Aretha and her dad had sedated the Riolu and took him to a nearby Pokémon center to be x-rayed. In his x-rays, it was revealed that an everstone had been fused into the scar on his shoulder and extracting it would lead to a painful and sudden death.

The man who had given him to her had experimented on the Riolu. He had forced the Pokémon into evolving and then embedded a stone into the creature's shoulder to reverse the process. The result was that the Riolu obtained the stats of his evolved form and was able to learn all the moves of his final evolution without ever being able to reach that form. Aretha had tried to make sense of the situation—why would he ever give her the Riolu in the first place? He could've kept it a secret, kept this powerful Pokémon to himself. No, instead he gave the baby Pokémon to a daycare man's daughter and then was killed in a mysterious incident by an active volcano. There was no way she could wrap her mind around it—none of it made sense.

Perhaps he took pity on the creature and decided that the best way to deal the scarred being would be to place him in a location where he would be taken care of and doted on. However, it had not been an easy transition for either Aretha or Quartz. First off, it took her at least three days to decide that she would not take him to the Pokémon center and put him out of his misery. Next, it took her the next year and a half to actual make the Riolu tolerate her presence and not flinch every time she reached out to him. Just as she was about to give up on him, he had suddenly appeared at her bedside one night, shivering and prodding at the scar on his shoulder.

In total, it had taken two years for them to finally understand one another. From that day on, the two of them had been attached at the hip, spending almost every waking moment together. Of course, all the other Pokémon that Aretha had evolved through friendship didn't take this well, but they acknowledged Quartz's dark past and often surrendered their owner's attention to the Riolu. Now the two of them were chasing after Apocalypse, the very first Pokémon to befriend the small fighting Pokémon.

Gritting her teeth, Aretha pointed at the fleeing dark type and watched as Quartz's arm lifted without hesitation. It broke her heart to have the Riolu attack the first friend he made on the ranch, but there was no way around it. She was still getting used to Hak and she hadn't found time to train with him, so she had no idea how he battled. She had trained Arky and all the other Pokémon that she could ride on how to attack while running, but the Raikou was still a mystery for her. She wouldn't risk losing Apocalypse in order for Hak to execute a move. "Aura Sphere!"

A glowing blue orb swelled in Quartz's hand before shooting off toward the fleeing Absol. It missed him just by inches and Aretha knew that it was the bond between the two Pokémon that had caused the Riolu to miss. He didn't want to hurt his closest friend. However, if attacking him was the only way to stop him from running, they would have no way around it. "Again!" She felt the baby Pokémon stiffen beside her as he executed the next move, this time grazing the black-and-white Pokémon ahead of them.

At the same moment, Hak somehow managed to tangle his legs in a few vines and nearly toppled over, almost sending Aretha and Quartz into the air. Just barely holding on as the Raikou tried to steady himself, her breath caught in her throat when she saw the Absol disappear into the ferns ahead. Almost shaking with disbelief, she urged the legendary beast forward, begging underneath her breath that Apocalypse hadn't disappeared again. _Demetra, please don't let him leave! I've already lost you!_ As if her prayers had been answered, she saw the disaster Pokémon waiting for them at the edge of the clearing they burst into.

When the Pokémon made no sign of running away, Aretha leapt off of Hak's back, Quartz landing neatly behind her. "Apocalypse!" She shouted, taking a step forward. The Absol stiffened slightly at her advance but stood his ground. She stared at him, taking in his ruffled fur, his tensed body, and the frantic look in his eyes. _Why are you calling me out here?_ She asked, eyes searching his desperately for an answer. _Why do you always look for me?_ There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, but the words that came out of her mouth came out as a plea rather than an inquiry.

"Come home." The Absol stared at her, his hackles dropping slightly. "Please, just come home," she begged. "It's been months. Almost half a year. Tell me what's going through your mind. Let me in again." She gazed at him helplessly. "Tell me what I need to know," she pleaded. The frenzied look in Apocalypse's eyes faded into one of longing and brokenness, as if he wanted nothing more but to return to her side. Next to her, Quartz took a step forward, voicing his own concerns.

Aretha's heart ached when she saw how torn the Absol seemed to be between rushing over to where she and the Riolu stood and taking off into the forest again. "Come home," she whispered. Apocalypse tore his eyes away and let out an anguished howl before disappearing into the darkness, leaving his owner and her two Pokémon standing in the middle of the clearing. The black-haired girl could only watch as her Riolu fell to his knees, calling out after the feeling Pokémon mournfully. Hak pressed up against her hesitantly before taking a few tentative steps toward the distressed baby Pokémon, sniffing Quartz in concern.

She flinched when the Riolu let out a ferocious snarl and lashed out, catching the Raikou by the nose. "Quartz!" She hissed, leaping to Hak's defense immediately. The blue-and-black Pokémon stared at her with a mixture of betrayal and fury in his eyes before disappearing into the forest after his friend. Aretha stared after him, a wave of disbelief washing over her. First she lost Apocalypse and now Quartz was running away from her? She numbly felt Hak pressing against her apologetically, keening lowly as he rubbed at his sore nose. She turned her gaze onto him, seeing him but not seeing him at the same time as she distractedly began stroking his head. She was suddenly unsure who was taking comfort from the other's presence as she willed herself not to crumple into the legendary beast.

* * *

When she returned to the Championship Campus, she was immediately crowded by curious trainers who didn't join in the chase. "Did you see the Shiny Raikou?" They asked, pushing and shoving as she stepped out of the forest. Surprised, Aretha realized that nobody had really caught a clear glimpse of her face and automatically assumed that she was one of the trainers who had gone after Hak. She quickly slipped into the role, apologizing and shaking her head in disappointment. While the trainers around her took it as a sign of defeat for not getting a picture of the legendary Pokémon, Aretha recognized the cold feeling in the pit of her stomach as her failure to bring Apocalypse home.

When Quartz had left her to go after his friend, she had returned Hak to his pokéball and took a slightly different route from the one she came from. It was a surprise when she found that the clearing had only been a few minutes' walk from the Championship Campus, but it had taken her longer to return to the Trainer Hangout Area because of the thickness of the undergrowth she had to push through. Taking in the dismayed expressions on the faces around her, Aretha muttered a half-hearted apology and pushed through the crowd to get to the cafeteria, Tramp following close behind with her bag strap still secured in his jaws.

Once she picked a few tidbits to nibble and found a table to settle down at, she couldn't find it in her to eat the food she had. She pushed them around on her plate, absentmindedly feeding Tramp bits and pieces of the ham she had picked up. He nuzzled her hand with each treat and whimpered when she stopped giving them to him. Instead of resuming her actions, Aretha leaned over and wrapped her arms around the Mightyena, letting out a shaky sigh when she buried her face in his neck. "I should talk to dad," she decided dejectedly. Tramp let out a low noise of agreement and wagged his tail when she fed him the last few bits of meat. He waited for her by the cafeteria entrance as she threw out the crackers that she had picked up and placed the plate in the dirty dishes bin.

She ruffled the fur on his head before leading the way to the phone booths. Once they were settled in a corner booth, Aretha mechanically dialed the daycare's phone number, ignoring the too-loud dialing noise of the phone as she pressed it to her ear. It rang for a few moments before she heard the other side answer the call. "_Hello?_" Xeno's voice asked. The black-haired girl faintly recalled that her mother's boss had been disappointed when it turned out that he and his family wouldn't be able to visit the Championship Campus every day to watch live performances, so he had decided to cancel his hotel reservations in favor of installing a television in his office so he could continue to watch in the comfort of his own working space.

However, he did not withdraw the vacation that he had forced onto Aretha's mother and Tiffany left the city to go back home. Xeno, of course, went with her. "Hey Xeno, it's Aretha," the black-haired girl said, wincing at how raspy her voice sounded. "Can you pass the phone to dad?" There was a long pause over the line before he replied.

"_Sure._" She heard him pull away from the phone slightly and yell in the background. "_Tiffany—do you know where Frank is? Aretha's asking for him._" She drew in a sharp breath at the sound of her mother's name and prayed fervently that she wouldn't rush over to the phone and take it from Xeno. As much as she loved her mother, Aretha was not in the mood to deal with her right now. Luckily for her, Tiffany didn't start talking through the phone and instead, Xeno's voice came back through the line. "_How are you doing, Aretha?_" She knew that he was trying to be subtle, but she knew the real message behind his words. _How are you coping with Demetra's passing, Aretha?_

"I'm alright," she replied. "I should be back in a day or two. The tournament's coming to a close."

"_It'll be great to have you back,_" Xeno replied. "_Well, here's Frank._"

"_Hey sweetheart,_" Aretha felt her knees weaken slightly at her dad's soothing voice. Tramp moved forward and pressed himself against her, pushing his nose into her shoulder. She smiled at him and rested her head against his, taking comfort in his reassuring presence. "_What's up?_"

"I saw Apocalypse," she replied. "And…Quartz when after him." Aretha grimaced at the pause her words elicited and bit her lip.

"_Alone?_"

"No…we went after him together at first…We took Hak," she said, shifting slightly. "It was right after we finished the last contest of the tournament. I was with Tramp and I grabbed Hak's and Quartz's pokéballs so I could chase after Apocalypse. I wanted Quartz to be there to help convince him to come home and Arky's pokéball wasn't in my bag when I went after him…" She braced herself for her dad's disapproving reply, mentally cursing herself. Her dad was extremely self-righteous and always scolded her for being irresponsible. She had assumed that she wouldn't need Arky that day, but obviously that assumption had led to her failed attempt to convince Apocalypse to return home.

"_I see. Did anyone see you?_"

"Yeah…quite a few trainers came after us. I got Quartz to stop them." Immediately, she regretted her words. Her dad had been very careful about telling others about the Riolu's strange powers and had rebuked her before when she allowed the Pokémon execute an Aura Sphere in front of a trainer. Luckily, the girl knew nothing of fighting type Pokémon and thought it was just an interesting trick.

"_Aretha…_" Her dad started dangerously and Aretha let out a frustrated sigh.

"I know, dad," she grit out. "I was being careless. I'm sorry, but can I finish?" She quickly took his silence as a confirmation and tried to push her guilt away. "Anyway, we found Apocalypse at a clearing and I tried to get him to come back. For a split second, he looked like he was going to walk over to me, but then he took off again. Quartz got frustrated and when Hak tried to comfort him…well, you know how Quartz is around newcomers." Her dad let out a small noise of agreement. The Riolu tended to be rather suspicious and rude toward new Pokémon and usually ignored them for half a year before actually tolerating them. "He lashed out at Hak and I snapped at him. I mean, Hak didn't mean anything…"

"_You spoiled Quartz too much,_" her dad told her. "_He probably wasn't used to being yelled at by you. What happened next?_"

"Well, Quartz took off after Apocalypse. I couldn't go after them, after all," she sighed. "I've already chased after Apocalypse for long enough to know that he has this uncanny ability to just disappear into thin air. And Quartz was so angry that I was afraid he would actually attack Hak if we went after them. Not to mention that, but the trainers that we managed to detain for a few minutes were going to catch up with us in a few minutes. So I just returned Hak to his pokéball and took a different route back to the Championship Campus."

"_Did anyone talk to you about him?_"

"No, luckily everyone thought that I was one of the trainers who went after him," Aretha replied. "Of course, I went with it. I would've caused too much controversy if I didn't."

"_So now what?_" Her dad asked. "_Now two of your Pokémon have run away from you._" A flare of pain flickered through her chest and she felt a stab of betrayal from her dad.

"I know that!" She hissed. "Dad, I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" She felt tears spring to her eyes and cursed herself mentally for getting so upset. For some reason, her body always seemed to think that every time she got distressed, she should have tears accompany her. Tramp whimpered from beside her and licked her face. She swallowed hard and tried to give him a smile, but felt it crumble when her stomach soured.

"_Okay, okay_," her dad soothed over the phone. "_Calm down. Are you going to go after them when the Championship is over?_"

"Of course," Aretha replied. "I can't just _leave them_, dad."

"_Alright. Don't worry too much about the two of them. They should be fine on their own. After all, nobody can catch Quartz because he's yours and Apocalypse has managed to avoid trainers for the meantime, hasn't he?_"

"I think so," she replied hesitantly, trying to remember whether she had sensed the presence of another trainer in the forest. She had been so focused on the Absol that she wasn't entirely sure whether she had noticed if anyone else had been out there.

"_Aretha, tomorrow is the last day of the Championship. You might just end up as one of the trainers with the highest tournament scores. You can't let the two of them get to you. Don't throw away these two weeks of hard-earned battling just to mope over losing them._"

"I didn't lose them, dad," she choked out. "I didn't lose them."

"_Okay, I worded that wrong. But you can't let them distract you from winning this._"

"Of course not," Aretha replied. "After all, that's why I called you. You told me that Demetra didn't want me to keep it all in, right?" The pause that followed afterward made her question whether her words had been voiced more sharply than she had initially wanted to.

"_Right. Well sweetheart, just know that we're cheering for you here. I've been bragging to quite a few of the trainers who are dropping by about you_," her dad chuckled sheepishly, changing the topic. "_They end up spending the entire day squished between all your Pokémon trying to watch you compete on our television screen. Speaking of such, should we get a new TV screen? The one we have now isn't nearly as big for everyone to watch comfortably. I also saw some pretty good deals in the advertisements that showed up in our mail a few days ago._"

"Dad, mother's going to chew your ears off when she finds out you're thinking about getting a new TV. She nearly screamed the house down when you changed our telephone provider without consulting her first, remember?" Aretha sighed, feeling her body relax slightly at the new topic.

"_Hmm. Can't we hide it in your room?_" Her dad suggested.

"Dad, if you haven't forgotten, mother comes into my room in the middle of the night sometimes just to kiss me goodnight," she retorted. "And what about that one time when she ended up rubbing her hand over my face? And how she always leaves my closet door open?" Things were really getting off topic now, but Aretha couldn't find herself to care. It always irked her whenever her closet door was open, especially when she woke up to find it ajar. "And beside, TVs aren't very inconspicuous. Especially one that's bigger than the one we have now."

"_Fine. She's heading this way_," he added in a hushed whisper. "_Do you want to talk to her?_"

"God no," she replied quickly, shivering at the prospect of her mother cooing over her performances and trying to comfort Aretha through Demetra's passing. Her mother loved her dearly, but she had a very…different approach to how she treated her daughter. She rewarded and punished simultaneously, a feat that she despised to the pit of her soul.

"_Alright. Love you._"

"Love you too," the black-haired girl whispered hurriedly. "Bye." She hung up quickly, knowing that her dad would make up something and say how Aretha had hung up on him. It would irritate her mother and result in a fairly awkward reunion at the end of this week, but she would have to deal with it for now. Sighing, the black-haired girl turned back to Tramp and smiled half-heartedly at him. "Up for some more treats?"

The Mightyena brightened immediately and wagged his tail. As they headed back to the cafeteria, she could almost imagine how he saw her. He probably was wondering why all her troubles couldn't be whisked away with the simple solution known as snacking. Playing out the possible scenes where her Pokémon could magically speak to her, Aretha laughed and earned a confused look from Tramp. Somewhat relieved from the heavy weight that had been hanging over her chest at the reality of losing both Quartz and Apocalypse, she patted the Mightyena's head and led him to the cafeteria line, where she suggested to him the different treats he could have.

"Sausage?" Tramp licked his maws excitedly. "Salami." He let out a grunt and looked away. "Cherry tomatoes." Technically, the bite Pokémon wasn't supposed to live off of greens, but he somehow had developed a love for those round, red fruits. He wagged his tail and Aretha scooped two spoonfuls onto her plate. "Ham?" His tail thumped twice in confirmation. "Cheese." He growled low in his throat and walked away from the cafeteria line, narrowing his eyes at his trainer. Taking his actions as a sign that he had lost interest in the rest of the food that was offered, Aretha headed after him.

"Hey—Aretha!" She looked up at her name and saw Zenith waving at her from a table. Sitting across from him were two men, one in a red ascot hat and the other in a black-and-gold baseball cap. _Zenith and his friends seem to have a strange obsession with hats_, she thought as she headed over to their table. _Maybe it's a regional champion thing?_ She faintly remembered how Red, the former Kanto Champion, also wore a hat of sorts. "Good job with the contest today," Zenith told her.

"Contest?" The man in the black-and-gold cap echoed. "You were one of the contestants today?" The man in the red ascot swatted at his friend and Zenith rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Carter," the Hoenn Champion replied. "She was one of the competitors for the Cool Condition Championship. She was the last appeals performance with the black cloak." Turning back to Aretha, he smiled apologetically. "Sorry, let me introduce you. This is Carter, dual Champion of Johto and Kanto." He nodded toward the scowling man in the black-and-gold cap. "And this is Felix, Champion of Sinnoh."

"Pleased to meet you," the man in the ascot hat said sincerely.

"Felix, Carter, this is Aretha. If you remember, she's the one who won the other medal during the relay race?" Zenith reminded her.

"Oh yeah!" Carter's head shot up. "Weren't the medals intended for just one winner?"

"We're lucky there were two," Zenith replied, "I didn't anticipate that the Champions would have a hard time choosing the MVT."

"It was pretty clever of you to make the medals with Ho-Oh and Lugia on them," the Johto-Kanto Champion grumbled. "You got my hopes up when I saw them." He perked up immediately, however, before his friend could reply. "Speaking of legendaries—did you hear what happened about an hour ago? It turned out that someone was seen on a Shiny Raikou." Aretha, who had slid into the seat next to Zenith during introductions, stiffened slightly. She hadn't expected word to travel this quickly.

"A Shiny Raikou?" The Hoenn Champion echoed, his brow furrowing. "You mean like the Raikou you called me about a month ago?"

"Yeah! There was a person in a black cloak!" _My God_, Aretha thought, staring down at her plate of food. She was barely aware of Tramp's low whine when he realized that he wouldn't be getting his treats from her. A wave of horror washed over her as she let Carter's words sink in. _I didn't know someone else was there!_ That would definitely explain why Hak had stiffened a just before he allowed himself to be captured. "Gosh, it was such a weird scene. I mean, that person just held out a pokéball and it was like the Shiny Raikou captured itself. It was just freaky," Carter continued, oblivious to Aretha's inner conflict.

"Aretha?" Zenith frowned and put a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Fine—just fine!" She said a little too quickly. She mentally cursed herself when a suspicious look crossed the Hoenn Champion's face. Giving him a quick smile, she turned to Tramp, who wagged his tail at the prospect of being fed.

"Aretha!" The black-haired girl groaned inwardly. What was with everyone and saying her name today? She looked up just in time to see Lukxia rush over, a worried expression on her face. "Was it Hak?" She demanded when she reached the table. Aretha felt the blood drain out of her face as she registered what her roommate was asking about.

"Hak?" Carter echoed. "Who's Hak?" Lukxia's eyebrows crinkled in confusion at the younger girl's reaction before her face paled.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Aretha—I just wasn't thinking—" Just as she said these words, the atmosphere tensed as the men sitting at the table pieced everything together. The black cloak she used during her performance, the cloaked figure with the Shiny Raikou, the expressions on Aretha's and Lukxia's faces—immediately, the man in the gold-and-black cap leapt to his feet, staring at Aretha in shock.

"It was you?" He shouted. Immediately, all chatter in the cafeteria stopped and Tramp raised his hackles with a snarl. Felix, who quickly caught the brief look of terror that flashed through Aretha's eyes stood up quickly as well.

"I can't believe it!" The Sinnoh Champion gushed, eyes glaring at Carter. "You're the girl who won the relay! I wanted to battle you during the Gauntlet Challenges, but I guess I'm a little too late for that," he grit out as the Johto-Kanto Champion recognized his mistake and quickly sat down. The cafeteria, which had been hauntingly quiet, quickly resumed its chatter when its occupants realized that the conversation had nothing pertaining to the Shiny Raikou that had been seen on campus earlier.

"Sorry," Carter mumbled sheepishly. "Just got a little too excited there." Lukxia continued to gaze in distraught at Aretha despite the small smile the black-haired girl had offered to her. "Wow. I never thought I'd meet the girl who managed _to capture a Shiny Raikou without even battling it._" The last words came out as a low hiss and the younger girl relaxed slightly when she realized that Carter wasn't going to raise his voice anymore. "You didn't even throw the pokéball at him. It's like it captured itself."

Zenith, who had been watching Aretha with an unreadable expression in his eyes, quickly sensed the girl's discomfort. He plastered a fake smile on his face and turned to Carter, his gaze strict and somber. "Well, tomorrow's going to be the end of the tournament," he said slowly, a warning edge in voice. The Johto-Kanto Champion stiffened guiltily when he recognized the tone of Zenith's voice and Felix sighed disapprovingly from beside him. "Are you all excited?"

"Definitely," Lukxia replied, relieved that the topic had been changed. "I've been feeling pretty confident about my scoreboard."

"You'll need a near perfect score to get into the top few, though," Carter said in a deadpan manner. Aretha, who had recovered from his earlier outburst, winced slightly at the implications in his words. It seemed that subtly wasn't the joint Champion's key point.

"Which I'm sure none of us achieved, because there are always difficult trainers to go up against," Felix added, easing the tension slightly. He glared at Carter under the guise of a sweet smile. The man in the black-and-gold cap cringed slightly and let out a hesitant laugh. Turning to Zenith, the Sinnoh Champion's lips quirked up disappointedly. "I wish I knew more of the people competing, though," he sighed. "I missed out on challenging some high-class trainers." As he said these words, he glanced over at Aretha, whose eyebrow raised in surprise. However, she decided not to voice her confusion and instead chose to nod in agreement.

"Well, the Pokéapp records aren't going to disappear from the tournament until the next time I get the crazy idea to start up another one," Zenith informed him. A sly smile crossed his face as he added, "Which of course, would sound amazingly fun. After all, Hoenn's one of the only regions without a yearly tournament."

"_Yearly_?" Carter spluttered. "God Zenith, this tournament was _expensive_. Unless we get amazing ratings from the competitors and the folks at home, it's going to be a lot harder to host another one if we don't enough funds. We nearly had to use our positions as regional champions to convince people to donate money." Of course, this earned him another glare from Felix and he immediately shut up.

"Wishful thinking, Carter," Zenith sighed. "I was trying to be optimistic."

"Sorry," the joint champion mumbled.

Aretha smiled at the scene that was playing out before her. For the first time in a long time, she appreciated how willing people were to change the topic before the situation became too tense. Earlier, with her dad, she had been on the verge of tears when he quickly decided to start talking about television screens as opposed to what happened with Quartz and Apocalypse. Then Zenith saved her from being victimized by Carter's sincere straightforwardness and Lukxia's somewhat oblivious reaction.

Oblivious. When she had first met her roommate, she had thought of her as a cool, distanced trainer who wasn't interested in getting to know her. After a few rough nights, she came to realize just how compassionate the blonde woman was. But never in her life had she imagined that Lukxia would be so distracted by her emotions that she would become oblivious to how tense the circumstances had become. Aretha lowered her head and laughed, startling everyone at the table. Deciding that everything become awkward if she explained why she was laughing, she chose to focus on Tramp instead, who had once again been ignored during their conversation about the tournament.

* * *

A/N: How...anticlimatic. Sorry about that guys. I promise it'll get a little more intense in the next few chapters...

And you thought that the experimenting days for Pokemon were over. Pshhhh...sorry. I actually feel pretty guilty about what I did to Quartz there.

So I realize that I'm having a hard time writing A/Ns because I'm already a few chapters ahead in writing and I want to talk about the chapters I had just written and then of course I realize that you haven't read those chapters yet because I hadn't posted them yet and...yeah.

Anyway, enough about me and onto Reader Shoutouts!

**kadesh2501** - Yayyy! I've been waiting for your review! If you haven't noticed, I'm quite a chatty person, so I love talking to my reviewers and hearing what they have to say about my story. Keep the reviews coming!

**Someone** - I totally agree with your "four move option" for the Pokemon anime (I nearly laughed my ass off when I read it) and I actually came across a comic that pointed out a lot of the things that didn't make sense about Pokemon. (Go on deviantart, search ATM: Illegal Pokemoning) I was also talking to my friend about my story a few days ago and she commented on how somehow Pokemon instills this idea that we have a bunch of ten-year-olds running around trying to kick each other's butts with mutant Pokemon.

Note: I am a huge Professor Oak Meme fan, so if you find any good ones, feel free to tell me about them!

As for Desmume, I actually do use that emulator, but I think I kept on mixing the word emulator with rom. What I'm trying to do is find the rom for Black 2, given the option to choose between part one of the fifth generation and part two. I chose part two, because there's more stuff that happens in part two, supposedly. As for Aretha's snapping, I feel like it was long coming. She keeps on having nightmares-she loses a battle because she was pretty much sleep deprived, then the Pokemon that pretty much raised her died, and...yeah. That sounds like enough to make me snap.

As for the shippish moment with Zenith and Aretha, looking back, I totally understand where you're coming from. I _did_ say that I wasn't going to be explicitly shipping characters in this story, but I am tempted after writing this chapter...Felix and Carter do make a cute bromancy couple...

Last note to make: the three "revived" people will be featured soon enough. Keep calm and read on, my friends.

R&R!


	14. Vengeance

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

Please remember to tell your friends to read this story!

* * *

The day of reckoning had come; Aretha mused as she leaned over the sink and washed her face. Today was the day that the winners of the Contest Championships would be announced and the top few trainer of the battle portion of the tournament would struggle with one another to be named the Champion of the Two-Part Hoenn Tournament.

She had received a notice when she returned to her room yesterday night from the head judge of the entire tournament, informing her that Tramp would have to be present tomorrow at the "crowning" as he put it. Aretha couldn't wrap her mind around why they would even have to remind her to bring her Pokémon—after all, it only made sense that he would be there to receive the award if it was meant for him, right? She chuckled at the displeased look she had received from her Mightyena this morning when Lukxia and her Luxray fussed over his appearance. He had always been against grooming and Aretha quickly slipped out of the room to go to the restroom in order to avoid her roommate for a few more moments.

"Aretha," she heard a voice say in a singsong manner. Letting out a sigh, the black-haired girl decided that it was already impressive that she managed to evade the blonde woman up to this moment. "Time for you to get all fancied up."

"Lukxia, please," the younger girl pleaded, turning around to face her roommate. She grimaced, remembering how the woman had insisted that she wear make up to her performance yesterday. She had barely escaped with lip gloss and foundation on her face, but managed to scrub it off before she actually got on stage. "I might have to battle later on. We wouldn't want everything to be messed up for the battle, right?" Aretha reasoned, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Then don't move around too much," Lukxia replied, resting her hands firmly on the younger girl's shoulders with a sickly-sweet expression on her face. "Besides, you shouldn't be moving too much anyway. After all, you're not the one battling on the field, right?" Damn, it seemed that Aretha wouldn't be able to worm her way out of this one. She had nearly thrown herself toward the bathroom door when her roommate had suggested eyeliner and mascara to her. Not to mention that, but she gained the Deerling-in-headlights look when the blonde woman mentioned blush and cover-up for the few pimples that decorated the younger girl's jaw. Aretha personally thought that her pimples were small and inconspicuous, but the look on Lukxia's face made her uncomfortable about her appearance.

There was nothing more that she could do beside plead at this point, it seemed. "Lukxia," she whimpered, throwing the best Snubbull-worthy pout she had. Well, since she had been placed in charge of a Granbull and her litter of Snubbulls for about a month, she had eventually developed a pout that held the true essence of the puppy-dog face. It was something that she was extremely reluctant to use since her mother rarely ever was affected by sentimental things and because she wasn't one to take the more passive approach towards solving things, but she knew better than to stand up to her roommate.

Thankfully, the pout seemed to work on Lukxia as the blonde woman slumped forward slightly with a sigh. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want to do some touchup?" She asked dejectedly. Aretha pushed down the defensive thoughts that were building up in her head. She was almost completely convinced that she had a Napoleon Complex at this point. Every time someone pointed out a flaw or two, she was immediately on the defensive to the point in which even the most neutral comments were taken as an attack. It was a height issue, of sorts. Of course, it didn't help that most of her Pokémon were taller than her or at least, taller than average in their own species.

"Yes," Aretha affirmed, feeling a stab of sympathy when the blonde released her. "I'm sorry…I'm just not good with makeup. I don't think it'll do much for me." Lukxia grumbled something about makeup being a magical sort of something before giving the black-haired girl a small smile. Truthfully, any discussion about her appearance made Aretha think of her mother and how that woman insisted on pointing out all of her flaws. Which probably explains the origins of her Napoleon Complex. And her short temper. And everything else about her.

"I'm not going to force you if you're that against it," Lukxia said slowly, but Aretha could hear the reluctant edge of her voice. "But I just want to know you mean well."

"I do," the black-haired girl reassured her roommate. "But I think the best way for you to show me that is if you're there supporting me the entire time." Giving the blonde woman a brief hug, she quickly headed out of the bathroom and back to her room to change into the clothes that she had laid out last night.

* * *

"_Welcome everyone, to the awards ceremony for all the Contest competitors!_" Pearl announced excitedly, grinning when the crowd cheered enthusiastically in response. "_First, our judges would like to thank all those who have participated in the contests and would like to encourage them all to continue their journey in the contest world outside of this tournament. To quote Head Judge Kristo exactly, 'Don't think that this tournament is the end for you; think of it as another step into your adventure into the world of contests'._" This earned another round of applause from the audience and the blonde announcer waited a few moments for everyone to quiet down.

"_Alright, will all fifteen competitors of the Condition Championships step onto the stage?_" The contestants entered the stage, quickly arranging themselves into groups of three and heading to an empty spot on the stage. Aretha smiled at May and Phil as she joined them in the corner of the set. "_Now, let's find out who was third place in the Tough Condition. Third place, with ninety-five points, is…_" _Back with the dramatic pauses, are we?_ Aretha thought dryly as she watched the blonde announcer smiled at the name on the card. "_...Arthur Blackstone and his Golem! Congratulations!_" A man with black hair stepped forward, accepting the small, bronze trophy from one of the award-bearers on the stage. Aretha heard a small snort of amusement from Phil and she craned her neck slightly to see what the brunet found so amusing.

She immediately recognized the award-bearers as the static champions who had also been giving out awards at the various events. A smile played on her lips as she clapped for the third place winner for the tough condition. "_The Champion of Tough Condition is of this Two-Part Tournament is…Maylene and her Lucario of Veilstone City with one hundred and thirty points!_" A pink-haired woman stepped forward, bowing low before accepting a gold trophy from Cynthia. The second-place winner was congratulated and given a smaller, silver prize.

"I didn't know Maylene participated in contests," Aretha heard May whisper.

"I think this is her first one," Phil replied. The black-haired girl looked back and forth between the two trainers before realizing that the two of them probably competed in different contest conditions as well.

"_Alright, moving onto the Smart Condition! Sliding in at third place is…Oka Noroi and her Banette with eighty-seven points!_" Hesitant cheers rose as a sickly-thin woman with disheveled black hair staggered forward. Lance handed her a bronze trophy, a tight smile on his face. "_In first place is…Devina Crysta and her Alakazam with one hundred and fifty-six points!_" May and Phil shared a confused look before the brunette leaned in to explain what was going on to Aretha.

"That woman had the worst battling performance of the day," she hissed. "How the heck did she win first place?" Aretha frowned and missed the announcement for who had won third place, but by the way that Phil bristled, she figured that it was unexpected. Zenith and a violet-haired girl stood side by side, an uncertain look on both of their faces. "_Bella Miller and her Milotic win the Beauty Condition Championship with one hundred and twenty points!_"

May's eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped as the girl stepped forward to win her prize. "No way," she whispered, "Zenith's performance and battles were spotless!" A conflicted look crossed Phil's face and Aretha chewed on her bottom lip nervously. They had all predicted that that the Hoenn Champion would walk away with the Gold Beauty Condition Trophy, but at the same time, they couldn't bring themselves to be angry about the results. After all, a trophy won is a trophy won. However, they didn't seem alone in their shock—confused murmurs rose in the audience as they looked at one another to confirm that Zenith hadn't won the Beauty Condition Championship.

"_Finally, we'll crown the winners of the Cool Condition. In third place is…_" Aretha quickly took May's hand and squeezed it, hoping to momentarily take the brunette's mind off of Zenith's unexpected loss. The distraught look on May's face nearly broke the younger girl's heart, but she offered the brunette a small smile. "_May Birch and her Sceptile with one hundred and four points! Congratulations!_" Aretha watched as the woman stepped forward to receive her trophy, but she noticed how May's blue eyes stared at Zenith as she accepted her award.

"_In first place is…_" Phil stepped up to the black-haired girl's side and took her hand, a small, nervous smile playing at the corners of his lips when she glanced at him. "_Phil Nettler and his Ampharos with one hundred and fourteen points!_" Aretha felt the bitter taste of defeat rise in her throat and she plastered a smile on her face as she turned to congratulate the man beside her. However, she hadn't been expecting the shocked face on the man's face.

"Th-this doesn't make sense," he stammered, looking desperately at her. "You should've won! Your battle and your appeals should've put you far above!" Aretha blinked blankly at him before turning to look at May, whose eyes burned with an icy fire. At this point, the audience was beginning to grow uncomfortable at how the three competitors in the Cool Condition continued to stare at one another in disbelief.

"_Um…Phil Nettler, will you please come and claim your trophy?_" Pearl asked nervously when the people in the audience began to voicing their confusion.

"Phil, go," the black-haired girl urged the man beside her, swallowing her disappointment quickly. "You deserve it." He stared at her, shaking his head slowly.

"No, _you_ deserve it." He headed toward where the Champions were waiting to hand him his trophy—all but _dragging_ Aretha along with him. Astonished murmurs rose from the crowd as he stopped in front of the award-givers. "There has to be some sort of mistake," he said, addressing the crowd. "Two competitors have given us spotless performances and amazing battles. Why haven't they won?" Suddenly, it was as May had suddenly found her voice. The brunette voiced her agreement, challenging everyone with an icy glare when they turned to look at her. Kristo stood up from the judging panel and scowled at Phil, his mouth curled downwards in displeasure.

"Phil Nettler, you will step down or else your prize will be confiscated from you," he snapped.

"Take it," the brunet hissed back, startling everyone. "I'm not taking something I didn't deserve." He glanced uneasily at Aretha, who gave him a small smile in response. She tugged on their joint hands and pulled him to the center of the stage to address the audience.

"Everyone, thank you for coming to see the awards for the contests," she told them. "There seems to have been some conflict between the results and the contestants today." She could feel a hundred pairs of eyes burn into her as she spoke and she swallowed nervously before continuing. "In the end, I believe that everyone wins in a Pokémon contest. All of the people who stepped up here before you today revealed just how close they were to their Pokémon yesterday. They showed you how much effort they put into participating in these contests in order to reveal how dedicated they are to their Pokémon and to entertain you. Although we all understand that in the competitive world, there are only so many winners we can have. However, I stand here on this stage with all these people and I realize that none of these prizes matter."

"The true winner is the one who knows he has done his best." Aretha turned around in surprise to see Zenith step forward. He set his trophy on the ground and smiled when he reached her side. "All of us are winners on this stage, and we thank you for watching our performances." The three of them bowed, hands linked together.

"Stop it! All three of you will be disqualified!" Kristo hissed.

"Disqualified after the contest is already over? Mind you, this is _my_ tournament," Zenith reminded the head judge sharply. He turned to face all the competitors who stood on the stage. "Thank you all for participating in these contests. Please know that it doesn't matter whether you won bronze, silver, or gold—but rather that you have managed to come this far. Congratulations, everyone." He bowed to them and released Aretha's hand with a soft smile. She returned the gesture and tugged Phil in the direction of the loading dock. To her surprise, several of the contestants who had already received their prizes set them aside as the Hoenn Champion had and turned to follow them.

* * *

"I probably just risked all of our future careers in contests by doing that," Zenith groaned, gazing apologetically to everyone who piled into the loading dock after him. "Judge Kristo has a lot of influence over contests. He might be tempted to make it impossible for us to compete in any other contests."

"Don't worry—we chose to leave with you," Maylene told him, resting her hand firmly on his shoulder. "And besides, I did such a horrible job with my performance that I'm convinced the only reason why I could've possibly won is because of my name as a gym leader."

"After what happened on screen, I wouldn't be surprised if the people of Hoenn and all the other regions decided to kick him out of the contest business," May sniffed haughtily. "You can only be so rude in front of the big screen. Of course, Zenith will be able to get away with it since there are more trainers than contestants out there, but as for the two of you…" she trailed off, frowning slightly at Phil and Aretha. "Some of Kristo's followers might be after your skins."

"Well, that's what Pokémon are for, right?" Aretha replied in a completely deadpan manner. "Bodyguards." Everyone stared at her for a few seconds before bursting out into peals of laughter.

"Exactly," Phil chuckled. "Well, we should head out of here soon, right? The battle championships are coming up in a few minutes." Aretha and Zenith shared a Deerling-in-headlights look before hastily throwing goodbyes over their shoulders and sprinting toward the stadiums. Behind them, the brunet shook his head in amusement and the rest of the contestants laughed as Maylene raced after them.

* * *

"You can't let them do this! They were disrespectful to the judging panel in front of _the entire world_," Kristo urged, trailing after the battle director. The stocky, tanned man turned around and gave the head judge a disapproving look, earning a startled squeak from the bony man.

"What happens in your contests do not affect the outcomes of my battles," Richard growled, the look in his eyes turning venomous. "Two of the trainers who you named are under my jurisdiction right now because if you haven't noticed, _your side of the tournament has already ended._ Now, I urge you to flutter off or do whatever you contest loons do unless you want to be personally _escorted_ off the campus by the Ranger Organization." Kristo scowled, but the effect was lost when the skinny man shrunk back at the battle director's glare. With a half-hearted _humph,_ the contest judge stormed away, his nose high in the air.

Richard was half tempted to send his Bisharp after the haughty judge, but decided otherwise. The paperwork would never end from there on out. "I found out why there was so much confusion over who won the Contest Championships," a voice spoke out, catching the battle director's attention. An older man in a magenta suit and a white lab coat stepped forward, skimming through the files in his hands. "The contestant with the lowest score of the three was automatically given the third place prize, but as for the other two…" His dark eyes rose to meet Richard's blue gaze. "It was a judgment call from the judges regardless of whether one of them was an obvious winner or not. In other words, it was a play on favoritism. Whoever the judges fancied most would win in the end."

"Bastards," Richard hissed, suddenly wishing that he _had_ sent his Bisharp after the sneaky rat of a contest judge. "Contests are similar to battles in that whoever won the prize should receive the prize. Depriving trainers of the prize that their hard-work had earned—disgusting. I'll have to schedule a few conferences with the media—they'll have a snow day with how corrupted the Delano Judge Administration has gotten."

"Don't worry—Zenith's choice to broadcast almost every event will give them a heads up on it. Your interview with them will be like icing on the cake. They'll be scrambling to get your opinion of Delano," the man in the lab coat sniffed distastefully. "My Ranger Organization is currently trying to direct everyone over to the dormitories or the stadiums. From what I heard, most of the contestants _will_ be staying to cheer on the three trainers who also competed in the Contest Championship."

"Shouldn't your Ranger Organization technically be out in world and protecting the relations between people and Pokémon alike?" Richard huffed. "Professor Hastings, we could've asked the local police force work here instead."

"Zenith Sterlight had formally requested that _my_ Specialized Ranger Unit to be present and working at his tournament," Professor Hastings replied. "Specialty Squadron QuickSilver is meant for special events. Besides, they're much better trained than those police officers you speak of. And better equipped. A gun would cause chaos in a tournament, but tranquilizer darts will not."

"You have a team of fifteen people in charge of organizing and taking care of the _entire_ campus. Fifteen to two hundred? That doesn't sound like the best ratio of ranger to people."

"I've seen fifteen high school students and seven adults run a tournament at a local high school with a thousand people present," Professor Hastings quipped. "Not only were they extremely successful, but they made large profits. They may not held a battling competition, but then again, they managed to make things work with about sixty-seven people per organizer. And besides, it's not only SSQS that's making sure the contest flows correctly—Zenith asked tournament coordinators from other Championships to come over and help."

"Alright, alright." Richard held up his hands in defeat. "You win. Moving onto more relevant topics," he said, ignoring the professor's mumbles of how he hadn't introduced the topic in the first place, "I have the list of the top twelve trainers in my hands. I'm going to need six camera crews to be taking care of each section of the Hoenn Stadium that the top twelve will be battling in."

"Only one camera crew to a section?" The elder man asked, narrowing his eyes. "We have enough crewmembers to have three crews per section."

"Yes, but the purpose of the tournament is to capture what is happening on the battlefield, not the other camera crew trying to film the trainers," Richard sighed. "Trust me on this. We'll also be dispatching a special overhead camera crew to film what's happening in the air."

"_If_ there are aerial battles," Professor Hastings pointed out.

"There _will_ be aerial battles, Professor. These are top-class trainers, after all." The battle director rolled his eyes. "We'll have six camera crews to our disposal while the other twelve do whatever they can to film the battles. All six battles will be happening simultaneously and the next pairings will not be announced until each battle is over and the trainers have restored their Pokémon's health. Make note that we'll need to move all six healing stations from the tournament's Pokémon center to the Hoenn Stadium."

"Why the Hoenn Stadium of all of them? The Kanto Stadium is the largest," the professor pointed out.

"This tournament is hosted in Hoenn and created by the Champion of Hoenn. I know that Mr. Sterlight did whatever he could to make the stadiums as equal as possible, but the Hoenn Stadium has the best lighting, best recording quality, and is easy to navigate. It is only understandable why we would host the final battles in the Hoenn Stadium." Richard glanced down at his watch worriedly. There were only five minutes until the top twelve trainers would be announced and then paired together for a battle. "I should be heading out in a bit. Please see to the things that we need."

"Of course."

* * *

"_Gooood Morning Hoenn! This is the first and last time that this tournament to will segue into its battle portion before twelve o'clock! Now, we would like to read out a few comments that were left by trainers' families and friends when they stopped by to watch the events! We'll be reading a few between every intermission, so feel free to cheer when your name pops up or the name of someone you know is said! We will be going through all the notes, so please listen up for yours!_" Nema announced, smiling out into the crowd. "_Alright, let's give it up for our battle director, Richard Linenburg!_"

Applause rose from the audience, which consisted of the families and friends of various trainers and contestants from the earlier contests. The stocky, honey-blonde man stepped into the middle of the battle stadium, waving as he accepted the mike that was handed to him. "_Good morning, Hoenn. I am proud to say that this tournament has been one of the best I have ever directed. Today is the last day, as all of you know, and I have the name of the twelve trainers who have earned the largest amount of points from battling and the events that had been held in my hand. We will be seeing all twelve of these trainers competing against one another and although we do not have enough time today to watch each battle by itself, we will eventually reach the last three trainers._

"_There are six screens that will be floating overhead to display what is happening in each section of the stadium. They will each be projecting what is happening in their section of their the battlefield and when we get to the last two battles, we will have all six screens displaying what is happening with those trainers. In between each battle, there will be a ten minute intermission, in which you can excuse yourself and go to the restroom or do whatever business you need to. Please remember that there are bathrooms located just outside this stadium and you are free to go to the bathrooms of the other stadiums if necessary._

"_Next are the emergency exits if anything goes wrong during the Championships. There are a total of eighteen and when heading down those stairs, please do not push. Please try to stay calm and help anyone who falls over back onto their feet. We do not want anyone to be hurt in the case of an emergency and we depend on your efforts to avoid any injuries. Now that we're done with the formalities, I will name the twelve trainers who will be participating in the Championship. All other trainers will be dismissed to head to the stadium seats and watch the battles to come or they will be escorted to the dormitory area to gather their things and head home._

"_Here are the names of the twelve trainers who will be competing today. Carter Soaren from Johto, Steven Stone from Hoenn, Silver Rea from Johto, Blue Oak from Kanto, Red Zakher from Kanto, Cynthia Cavallon from Sinnoh, Zenith Sterlight from Hoenn, Aretha Redwing from Hoenn, Wallace Keary from Hoenn, Lance Weisman from Kanto, Mary Moneo from Unova, and Harper Donev from Kalos! Please give a round of applause for these twelve trainers!_" The six screens that Richard had described earlier came down on all sides just as the dome of the stadium opened to soak the battlefield in sunlight.

The twelve challenger's names and pictures were placed on cards and randomly assorted. "_Who will each of these trainers battle against?_" Nema asked excitedly, holding a new microphone in her hand as the cards were laid on their backs. "_Our first battle pairing is Blue Oak versus Cynthia Cavallon! They will take stage 1 of the stadium! Next are Wallace Keary and Zenith Sterlight in stage 2. Looks like these two Hoenn Champions will have to fight to determine whether Mr. Sterlight will be able to hold his position in Hoenn as well as win this tournament! After that pair is Silver Rea against Carter Soaren in stage 3. Then it's Steven Stone versus Mary Moneo in stage 4. Next is Aretha Redwing against Harper Doney in stage 5. Last but not least, we have Lance Weisman and Red Zakher in stage 6. These are exciting pairings! It looks like static champions will be facing against the trainers who beat them a few years ago and quite a few dark horse trainers are going to be competing against the some of the most famous trainers off all the regions!_"

"_These battles will start in approximately ten minutes! In this time, trainers who have not had their names called, please go take your seats in the stadium seats. In the meantime, we'll start reading the messages that have been left for trainers. 'Dear Jared, your mother and I are extremely proud of all that you've done! It's been a wonder to see you on television. Love, dad',_" Diamond read aloud.

* * *

Aretha's nerves tingled as she separated herself from the trainer crowd to join the eleven trainers who were called out. Zenith smiled kindly at her and Carter quickly waved her over. "Honestly, I'm not surprised by most of the people in the top twelve," the Hoenn champion commented, looking around. "It's only understandable why we have regional champions and static champions here. But I'm pretty happy to see that we have a few 'dark horse' trainers, as they put it."

"I'm shocked that Felix didn't make it," Carter mumbled, eyes searching the crowd. "He had such a good winning streak…"

"Well, remember that some of these trainers have been boosted up by event points," Zenith reminded him, glancing in Aretha's direction. The black-haired girl flushed slightly and was about to speak when a hand rested firmly on her shoulder.

"You're just jealous," Red informed the Hoenn Champion with a smirk. "Good job making it," he told her. The black-haired girl faintly remembered that the red-eyed man's team had won the other event that had been held during the tournament. "Wait for me in the finals?"

"What makes you think that you're going to the finals?" Blue asked scathingly, an exasperated expression on his face. "Don't get too cocky. Some of the trainers out here are the best of the best. Best of luck to everyone," he added with a small smile.

"Gosh, some of these messages are really embarrassing," Carter commented, breaking off the chorus of "you two"s to Blue's words. "What?" He asked when half the people turned to give him an annoyed glare.

"Well, we should all be getting to our respective stages," Zenith decided. "I'll see you guys around, I guess." Aretha said her goodbyes before heading over to her side of the stadium. Her opponent nodded at her when she arrived and asked her which side she preferred to battle on. Once they decided who would be on each side, they went their separate ways and organized their teams.

She looked over the six pokéballs that were sitting at the bottom of her bag. "_Trainers, you will be allowed to use a total of three Pokémon per battle. You will be allowed to swap out one Pokémon each time you move onto the next stage. Choose wisely!_" Nema advised them. _Three only, huh?_ Aretha thought. _I'll take these guys, then._ Picking up half of her pokéballs, she left her bag behind and slipped two of the capsules in her pocket. The pokéball in her twitched once, as if signaling Pokémon inside was ready. "_Now that it seems that our trainers are situated, we'll lay down some simple rules. Trainers are allowed to switch out their Pokémon as often as they like, but if trainers wish to use items, they must first give those items to their Pokémon. They are not allowed to use items freely. In order to win, the trainer must knock out all the Pokémon that will be used by his or her opponent. They will then move onto the next round._"

"_Alright, now that we're finished with rules, let's begin the competition. On the commentary panel, we have on commenter per battle pair,_" Pearl informed the crowd. "_Trainers, the battle begins in…three…two…one!_"

"Crescendo!" A Gardevoir leapt out of Aretha's pokéball just as her opponent released a Breloom. _Breloom_, she thought as Crescendo leapt forward. _Dual grass and fighting. We have type advantage._ "Psychic!" A purple haze surrounded the green-and-brown Pokémon, lifting it clear off its feet and sending it plummeting back to earth.

"Breloom, get on your feet!" The mushroom Pokémon managed to twist its body and barely managed to land on its knees. "Rush forward with Seed Bomb!" Shells appeared all around Crescendo and dropped down on the Embrace Pokémon.

"Protect!" The Gardevoir raised her hands before her and a semi-transparent shield cloaked over her. Just as the barrage ended and her defenses fell, the Breloom came running at her, head lowered.

"Headbutt, Breloom!"

"Hands in front, Crescendo!" The Gardevoir's arms shot out immediately. "Psychic!" The Pokémon's red eyes flashed as she threw the charging Pokémon into the air, watching it tumble on its way back to the battlefield.

"Breloom, land!"

"Shadow Ball." A large, pulsating orb was released from Crescendo's hand and slammed into the struggling Mushroom Pokémon. "Thunderbolt!" The Breloom let out an anguished cry as it failed to orient itself in time. It slammed against the battlefield just as lightning came down upon it, filling the air with dust. Aretha watched the dust cloud carefully—there was no telling whether the Pokémon would still be on its feet or not. When particulates dissipated, she relaxed slightly at the limp form of the Breloom.

"Return." Harper's brown eyes pinned down Aretha's as he recalled his Breloom to its pokéball and retrieved another capsule from his pocket. "Prickle! Dig!" The Sandslash quickly burrowed its way underground, disappearing from sight. _I could have Crescendo use Psychic and avoid getting hit,_ Aretha mused. _But otherwise, she'll dominate the competition._

"Return, Crescendo." Quickly swapping pokéballs, Aretha sent out her Togekiss. "Wish, stay off the ground!" The White Pokémon hovered overhead as Harper's Sandslash resurfaced in confusion. She waited a few heartbeats before calling out to her Pokémon. "Metronome!" Wish waggled her wings twice before several ice spears appeared around her. _With_ a cry, she threw them, each ice shard flying toward the ground Pokémon.

"Prickle! Dodge!" The warning came too late. One of the icicles caught the Sandslash, sending it onto its side. The Pokémon let out a howl of pain as Wish continued to throw ice shards until she created a ring around the ground Pokémon.

"Metronome!" The Togekiss wiggled her wings again and an army of leaves appeared out of thin air. With a particularly powerful beat of her wings, the leaves flew at the Sandslash, which was trying to find its way around the ice shards that were sticking out of the ground. _Leaf Storm_, Aretha thought, recognizing the twisting pattern of the razor sharp blades from her double battle with Blue and Red.

"_Dig!_" Prickle, suddenly hearing its owner's voice, dove into the ground just as the leaves entered the ice ring. Aretha scowled, remembering the nasty aftereffect of using Leaf Storm. Hopefully Wish's special attack wouldn't be affected since the move never actually hit its intended target. When she looked up at her Togekiss, she was relieved to see that the Pokémon hovering above as if nothing had happened.

"Hold, Wish," Aretha called. She was half tempted to press her ear against the ground to see if she could hear the Sandslash digging though the ground, but then again, that was a feat that was only found in Pokémon. Placing her head against the ground would earn her quite a few confused looks and a rather embarrassing comment from the announcer overhead. She scoured the battlefield, looking for hints of where the Pokémon would pop up. "Aura Sphere!" The attack would need a few seconds to charge, but hopefully Harper's Sandslash would poke his head out to see what was going on.

However, several moments passed without any action. Aretha narrowed her eyes in distaste and chewed her lip thoughtfully. "_Uh-oh. It looks like Harper's Sandslash is keeping underground. What will Aretha do to get the curious Pokémon to resurface? Or will she just wait for the Sandshrew's time to run out? Battle rules state that if a Pokémon stays underground for over three minutes, that Pokémon will automatically be disqualified!_" There were three options for her to take. She could either have Wish aim at random areas of the ground and scare the ground Pokémon into digging further down. She could also wait until the Sandslash's three minutes were up. Her last option, however, could lead to Wish sustaining damage.

Aretha looked up at her Togekiss and quickly decided that her third choice would be the most effective. "Land, Wish!" The Jubilee Pokémon fluttered her wings twice, gesturing to the Aura Sphere that was hovering by her chest. Aretha shook her head subtly, signaling that the Pokémon should hold onto the attack. Her heartbeat increased when the Togekiss neared the ground, carefully landing on her two feet. The announcer overhead, who had been babbling at how unexpected Aretha's decision had been, stopped talking in favor of leaning in and watching exactly what was going to happen next.

Wish glanced at her owner and the black-haired girl made a twirling motion with her finger. The Togekiss took a few steps forward, spun on its heel, and hopped around. "_This is…unexpected. Aretha's Togekiss is walking around on the ground without any care. What is Aretha planning?_"

"Run!" She shouted. Wish began to run around in circles, holding the enormous Aura Sphere between her wings as she staggered along. _It won't be long before it touches the ground_, Aretha thought, looking at the swelling orb. _Aura Sphere continues to absorb the trainer's aura until the move is executed or when the trainer's aura is drained. We shouldn't worry about it running out anytime soon, but it'll explode if Harper's Sandslash doesn't appear soon._ Suddenly, the ground before the Togekiss burst open and the ground Pokémon leapt forward, seemingly unaware that Wish was still holding the Aura Sphere in her wings.

_No, it knows._ Aretha recognized the reckless gleam in Prickle's eyes. _It wants to collide with Wing!_ Although the Togekiss's flying typing would protect her from too much damage if the Aura Sphere were to explode, any move at extremely close proximities could result in a staggering loss of HP. Sandwiching the swollen Aura Sphere between Wish and Prickle would result in either a double knockout or a nearly fainted Togekiss. "Release it! _Extremespeed!_" Just as Wish threw the glowing blue orb, Harper's Sandslash thrust an arm out, piercing the sphere. Before the flying Pokémon could retreat in time, the Aura Sphere exploded, engulfing the circle in the middle of the battlefield in a flash of white.

"Wing!" The explosion had filled the air with dust, shrouding the two Pokémon. Aretha waited with a baited breath, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to make out the figure of her Pokémon. When the air cleared, she saw that both Pokémon had been knocked out by the attack. Even with type disadvantage, a supercharged Aura Sphere at a close proximity was able to take out Wish.

"_Wow! Both Pokémon are down! Trainers, quickly choose your next Pokémon!_" The two trainers returned their fainted Pokémon to their respective pokéballs and reached for their next fighters.

"Belladonna!" Harper sent out a Gothitelle and Aretha pulled out her last pokéball, sending Tramp to the field. Immediately, Aretha recognized all the advantages she held over the opponent. _Type advantage, speed advantage, attack advantage…_In the back of her head, she heard a voice chanting for revenge, for retribution. _For Wish, for Wish, for Wish_, it shouted. _No mercy here_, she thought as she sent Tramp to the middle of the field. "Fake Tears!" The black-and-purple Pokémon hid her face in her hands as heavy tears began to trail down her face. She peeked through the gap between her gloves at the advancing Mightyena, who slowed down slightly when he reached her. The triumphant smirk that crossed Harper's face quickly crumpled when the dark Pokémon lowered himself toward the ground.

"Iron Tail!" Aretha felt a wave of grim satisfaction wash over her at the shocked expression on the Gothitelle's face when Tramp's tail connected with her body and sent her flying. "Shadow Ball!" A purple orb formed in the Bite Pokémon's mouth as he lunged after the airborne psychic Pokémon.

"Brick Break!" Belladonna's face twisted angrily and she swung an arm out at Tramp.

"Throw it, Tramp!" The Shadow Ball was released and quickly destroyed by the Gothitelle's attack. "Grab her!" The Mightyena's open jaws snapped like a Ursaring trap and he twisted in midair, using his body like a whiplash as he threw her as far as he could. "In succession—Shadow Ball!" Each one knocked the Gothitelle off balance, connecting with her chest, head, or lower torso. She hit the ground hard and Aretha watched coldly as the Pokémon tumbled and crumpled over herself.

"…_And that concludes stage 5's battle! The winner—Aretha Redwing!_" The people on her side of the stadium cheered as the two trainers walked to the center of the battlefield.

"Good battle," Aretha offered politely, holding out a hand. Harper, who looked shaken by the sudden defeat, stared at her for a few minutes before hastily shaking her hand.

"Good battle," he echoed. Turning quickly on his heel, the man rushed over to the portable healing station at the corner of the stadium. Aretha followed more slowly, cradling Wish's pokéball in her hands. Beside her, Tramp whimpered softly, nosing the capsule and wagging his tail, as if telling the Togekiss that he had avenged her. Aretha ruffled the Mightyena's fur fondly and felt a stab of guilt as she saw a tear escape the corner of Harper's eye. She went over to an empty healing station and returned Tramp to his pokéball before loading all three of her Pokémon into the machine. Without even truly meaning to, she had crushed Harper's hopes of winning the competition in order to allow herself to move onto the next battle.

* * *

Before she knew it, the second round of battles had finished and three cards appeared on the six screens, displaying the names and faces of the trainers who would be moving onto the final battles. Seeing that her battle had been the last to finish, Aretha rushed over to the healing stations to restore her Pokémon. "_Alright, everyone! We have our three battle finalists! We were initially tempted to have a three-way battle, but then we decided against it and chose instead to examine the number of points each of these trainers earned! Whichever trainer earned the most out of the three will not be required to battle twice and will then battle with whoever wins in the next battle!_" Pearl announced.

"_Zenith Sterlight, Blue Oak, and Aretha Redwing have all defeated their opponents and will be heading onto the finals. Looking at their points, Zenith slides into first with three hundred and forty points! Next is Blue with three hundred and seventeen points and lastly Aretha with three hundred and four points. Our next battle will be between the dark horse trainer and the renowned leader of the Viridian City gym!_" Red patted the Hoenn Champion on the back just as Silver and Blue nodded to one another. Aretha felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she turned to see Steven smiling warmly at her.

"Good job," he told her. "I'll be cheering for you in the finals. You're up against some tough competitors." A hesitant smile played on her lips as he stepped away to restore his Pokémon. It had been pure luck that she defeated him. First off, she was required to have chosen which Pokémon to swap before being paired with the next trainer and second, one of his lead Pokémon had been swapped out for a weaker one. _Let's see if I can survive battling against Blue_, Aretha thought with a sigh, glancing over her shoulder at her next opponent. _I suppose this is a second chance after that double battle…_

* * *

A/N: I hate to say this, but I'm sort of running out of energy to write these chapters right now...thankfully I have tomorrow's chapter finished and I'm thinking of taking a break before writing the fifteenth chapter (Fanfic says that it'll be chapter 16, but it assumes that my character guide is a chapter as well). I was actually debating whether I should've made Phil win the Cool Condition, but then I remembered that Aretha pretty much pwned him in the battle rounds and she did a spotless appeal...Then I decided that it would be interesting to show if there was a little bit of corruption in the contest and have Phil "win".

Anyway, I hope Professor Hasting's and Richard's conversation encourages you to read the next chapter...after all, there's going to be something exciting coming up...

I have the hardest time coming up with surnames, so I ended up using a surname generator. As for the metronome moves used in this chapter, I used a metronome move generator. And for some of Harper's Pokemon, I used a Pokemon generator. I'm really resourceful, aren't I?

Before I head into reader shout-outs, I have an idea for a future fanfic, but I want to know if anyone is interested in reading it. So yesterday, I tried to play Black 2 on Desmume, but there was something wrong in the game in that the Pokemon didn't gain EXP from battles. I ended up deleting the rom, but in the conversation that my character had with Bianca, I realized just how interesting it would be to write a fanfic from the perspective of a Professor's assistant. Of course, I'm going to have to think of an interesting enough plot to make it go well, but how does it sound? Would you guys be interested in reading something like that?

Reader Shout-Outs!

**kadesh2501** - I almost can type your username without having to look back at your profile! Yayy! *laughs* Moving on, I'm glad that you're playing the newest generation of games. My best friend is getting X for Christmas, but my parents can't really afford to get me a 3DS (or a DS in general), so I doubt that I'll be able to play fifth gen or sixth gen until I'm capable of affording one myself...without my parents breathing down my back the entire time. I'm sure you'll be looking forward tomorrow's chapter!

**Someone** - Mmm, sueishness seems to be part of amateur writing. But if you figure out who's to blame for what happened to Quartz, then you might think twice. As for Poketelepathy, I'm not really sure if I want to pursue that line of thought anymore. I personally believe there are times where the trainer becomes so close to his/her Pokemon that he/she is capable of communicating mentally with said Pokemon in dire situations. A connection of the heart, in a way.

As for everyone's reaction to the Shiny Raikou, you can't really blame them, can you? I mean, all of us freak out at the thought of finding a shiny...or at least we used to freak out at the thought of finding a shiny before sixth generation rolled around.

Well, that's all I have to say for this chapter and I hope you enjoy it! Keep calm and read on, my friends.

R&R!


	15. Awards Ceremony

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

Okay guys, I tried posting this online yesterday, but every time I tried to get to get to my behind-the-scenes profile page (which is the page where I get to edit/add on chapters, change my profile summary, set up polls, and generally be a boss), Fanfiction stopped me with a 503 Error. Even when I tried logging out! And to further prove that I desperately wanted to post this chapter yesterday but was unable to because of problems beyond my ability to repair/resolve, I tried going on Fanfiction in the morning, in the evening, and at night. Three times! And I also tried it on my friend's computer, but the same error popped up! So sorry everyone, this is your late Christmas chapter.

* * *

"_Finally, it's the semi-finals of the battle! Just as how we had divided the field into thirds for our three battles that were held just a few minutes ago, we'll arrange the field so we can have the best view of the second-to-last battle. New boundaries have been drawn and the trainers' Pokémon will be expected to stay within these battles or else they will be withdrawn and act as a handicap for their trainers. Alright, so let's get this battle started! In the right corner, we have Blue Oak—former Indigo League Champion, current Viridian City gym leader, and grandson of the renowned Professor Oak!_

"_In the left, we have Aretha Redwing—a dark horse trainer who has risen from the ranks. Although we don't have very much background on her, it seems that her family runs a daycare center. According to her tournament records, she made it to the Contest Championships and won second place for the Cool Condition. She also won the second MVT award from the first event that was held in this tournament—in fact, she and Blue were on the same team for that relay! This is going to be an interesting battle, folks. These two have worked as teammates and now they'll be required to face off against one another for battle!_" Nema announced excitedly.

"_Before we start, we'll read out the notes that have been deposited by their family members and friends! Here's one for Blue; 'Good trainers are those who stand up after a few minutes of lying on the field after a defeat. The best trainers get up immediately and continue fighting on. You, Blue, are the latter of the two. Love, Professor Oak'. Looks like the Pokémon professor is rooting for his own grandson in this one!_"

"_Here's a heartfelt message from Aretha's mother—'I always knew you had it in you to be something great. What I never knew was that you were able of achieving something amazing. Who knew that the little girl who cried when a plate of asparagus was placed before her would stand as one of Hoenn's most accomplished trainers? Forever yours, mom'._" This note earned quite a few laughs from the crowd and Aretha felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Could her mother get any cornier than this? "_How sweet_," Richard chuckled. "_Well, let's not let the trainers wait any longer. The battle will begin in three…two…one!_"

Aretha sent out her Swampert just as Blue's Rhydon took the field. She quickly noticed her type advantage and used it as leverage over her opponent. "Surf!"

"Earthquake!"

"Jump, Evanescent!" The Swampert leapt into the air a split second before the ground split open underneath him. Aretha braced herself as the terrain shook and watched as the water from Evanescent's Surf drained into the fissures in the ground. _Quick thinking_, she thought. _If I keep pushing Evanescent to use Surf, he'll keep having his Rhydon use Earthquake to drain them before they actually hit. I'll have to get Evanescent closer…_Despite the fact that the battle had just begun, it already reminded Aretha of the double battle she had against the Viridian City gym leader and his companion. After all, this was the second time that Evanescent and the Rhydon were facing off over the course of two weeks.

"Stone Edge!" The rock Pokémon charged forward, an army of rocks building up on his arm as he reared back for a punch.

"Focus Blast!" Aretha's Swampert whirled around to meet the Rhydon, his palm meeting the pointed edge of the rocks that decorated the opposing Pokémon's arm. Focus Blast was a tricky move in that it required the correct orientation of the user's body and a close proximity to its target. Luckily, with how close the Rhydon was in order for him to execute the move, there was nothing stopping Evanescent from missing. "Again!" Just as the rocks on the Drill Pokémon's arm shattered under the force of the Swampert's attack, the blue Pokémon's other arm came up to deliver a jolting blow.

The Rhydon tumbled backwards, but Evanescent was on the rolling Pokémon immediately. Rhydons had ridiculously high defenses and powerful attacks and Aretha knew there was nothing stopping Blue's Pokémon from standing again. If anything, taking him down before he had a chance to recover was her best course of action. "Surf!" Mercilessly, a wave of water slammed down on the Rhydon, knocking him further toward where his trainer was waiting. Evanescent took a few steps back, quickly retreating to take a defensive stance before his trainer. Blue took a step forward to examine the condition of his Pokémon before shaking his head and returning the fainted Pokémon to his pokéball.

"_Wow! It's only been two minutes into the battle and Aretha was already able to knock out Blue's Rhydon. I suppose these two top-of-the-line trainers are already well-acquainted with the strategy of hitting fast and hitting hard. Blue sends out his Arcanine for the next battle—uh oh. Immediate type disadvantage. What is he planning to do?_" The quasi-legendary took a few steps tentatively, as if testing the ground underneath his feet.

"Roar!" Bracing himself on the terrain, Blue's Arcanine unleashed a powerful cry, startling Evanescent. Aretha felt the bottom pokéball in her pocket twitch in response to the outburst. She bit her lip when her Swampert turned and scampered back to where she stood, his fins eerily erect from pure adrenaline as opposed to fear. She would be required to switch Pokémon at the Arcanine's cry, so she quickly returned the jittery Evanescent back to his pokéball and reached for the next one in her pocket. _Sorry, but you'll have your turn in the next battle_, she thought, tapping the pokéball that had twitched in response to the opposing Pokémon's roar.

"Crescendo, Thunderbolt!" The second that the Gardevoir was released from her pokéball, she thrust a hand out and sent bolts of electricity at Blue's Arcanine.

"Dodge!" The orange Pokémon leapt to his feet, easily sidestepping the electric attack. "Get close! Extremespeed!"

"Shadow Ball!" After years of working with Arky, Aretha was well acquainted with the split-second acceleration that Extremespeed brought to a Pokémon's stride. The Pokémon using the speed-increasing move would seem hundreds of yards away only to appear at your side within a second. Crescendo lifted her hand and released a purple sphere in front of her. Aretha felt a stab of satisfaction at the startled yelp that came a second later as the Arcanine ran straight into the attack. "Protect!"

"Flare Blitz!" The fire painted over the protective shield that covered the Gardevoir. The black-haired girl grit her teeth when she saw Crescendo wince at the scalding heat that penetrated her move. "Get around her—Extremespeed!"

"Thunderbolt!" Too late. Just as the Gardevoir extended her hand back to aim at where the Arcanine would appear, the orange Pokémon slammed into her. "Protect!" Crescendo curled up on herself and created a semi-transparent barrier just as Blue commanded his Arcanine to use Flare Blitz again. "Psychic!" A purple haze wrapped around the quasi-legendary Pokémon as soon as he stopped his fire attack. "Throw him!" Crescendo's eyes blazed as she lashed out a slender arm with a shriek. The Fire Pokémon was thrown into the side of the stadium, crumpling to the ground immediately. "Shadow Ball!" Breathing heavily, the Gardevoir lifted both her hands and sent a succession of purple orbs in the opposing Pokémon's direction.

"Extremespeed!" Blue's Arcanine, which had risen to his feet and had been shaking off his dizziness, disappeared in a flash.

"Spin!" Releasing several Shadow Balls at a time would result in smaller, weaker attacks, but it definitely increased Crescendo's range. That way, even if the Arcanine got to her, he would have sustained some damage in reaching her. "Charge!" When the fire Pokémon reappeared in the chaos just a few feet away from her, the Gardevoir began storing energy, the purple orb pulsating between her hands as it expanded and swelled.

"One last time—Flare Blitz!" Blue's Arcanine opened his mouth and released a stream of fire at Crescendo, who visibly flinched at the close-range fire.

"Hold, Crescendo!" Aretha could almost feel her Gardevoir shake as the flames approached. "A little longer," she grit to herself. "Just a little…" The fire roared as it came in contact with oxygen, growing stronger as it leapt at the green-and-white Pokémon. "Now!" Crescendo released her Shadow Ball, sending it straight into the line of fire. The purple orb parted the flames, crashing straight into the fire's source. With a startled yelp, Blue's Arcanine was thrown backward as his flames engulfed Aretha's Gardevoir.

"_At the last second, Aretha had her Gardevoir release the shadow ball that it had been holding—making it collide with the Flare Blitz that Blue's Arcanine had unleashed just seconds before! What will the colliding moves result in? Both in close proximity, both fairly powerful—will they cause a double knockout?_" Nema asked excitedly into the mike, almost bouncing in her seat. Aretha spared the screen a quick glance, just catching part of the reply that was being shown. Her heartstrings tugged when she saw Crescendo raise an arm as a last attempt of defense as the flames wash over her.

"_I don't know—Blue's Arcanine gets S.T.A.B bonus from using his Flare Blitz, boosting the ridiculously powerful move beyond its base attack power. Although he'll definitely take damage from the move, he was also close enough to the Gardevoir that he could've done massage amounts of damage. However, he had already sustained some damage from the Gardevoir's Shadow Ball and Psychic moves. There is a possibility that he could've been knocked out in this battle_," Pearl sighed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "_Aretha's Gardevoir, like all Gardevoirs, lacks the ghost typing that would've made Shadow Ball stronger with a S.T.A.B boost. Will the damage sustained earlier by Blue's Arcanine and the close proximity of his Flare Blitz determine whether we see a double knockout?_"

As the flames and the dust cleared, Aretha saw two figures standing in the middle of the field. Crescendo was horribly burned and she shook with the effort to keep herself upright. Blue's Arcanine, on the other hand, stood firmly with his legs apart and his fur was matted with the dust particulates sticking to the remnants of the Gardevoir's Shadow Balls. "_Wow! It looks like both Pokémon are still standing. Whereas Aretha's Gardevoir looks like the slightest touch could knock her over, Blue's Arcanine looks sturdy and able to endure another hit!_" Aretha shot a glare in the screen's direction before quickly turning her attention back to her Pokémon. Crescendo was definitely on the verge of collapsing, but she held her ground as she stared at the Arcanine before her.

Suddenly, as if time had slowed down, both Pokémon fell to the ground, sending another wave of dust around them. "_A double knockout? No—one of them is still holding on!_" Blue's Arcanine was lay unmoving on the ground while Crescendo was on her knees, shaking in exhaustion. She glanced at her trainer, holding up a tattered yellow band in her hand sheepishly. _My focus band_, Aretha thought in surprise. She had been looking for it earlier on in the morning and had been unable to find it. No wonder her Gardevoir had refused to take any items that were handed to her. She had been hiding the focus band from her trainer.

Ignoring the surprised cries from the audience, Aretha stepped out onto the battlefield, briskly crossing over the field to reach her Pokémon. She knelt beside the exhausted Gardevoir, lowering her head until the two of them were at eye level with one another. Crescendo raised her head shamelessly, her eyes glittering with stubbornness. She was undoubtedly expecting a scolding from Aretha—or at least some sort of punishment. The black-haired girl studied her Pokémon expressionlessly before resting her hand gently on the psychic Pokémon's head. Startled, the Gardevoir flinched under her trainer's hand and gazed up at her in disbelief. Aretha offered her Pokémon a small smile and stroked Crescendo's green hair.

"I'm proud of you, sweetheart," she whispered. "Wait for a bit, alright? I'll get you all healed up in a bit." A relieved smile crossed over the Gardevoir's face and she nodded, leaning into her trainer. Aretha returned Crescendo and headed back over to her side of the field, her fingers playing with the last, unused Pokémon in her pocket.

"Aretha!" She froze, mid-step at Blue's call. "What's your next Pokémon?" The brunet asked, taking a step forward.

"_What's this? Blue seems to be asking Aretha about what Pokémon she will be using next. Isn't that prohibited?_" The black-haired girl heard furious shuffling overhead. "_No, there aren't any rules against it! What is Blue planning?_" Aretha studied the gym leader thoughtfully, trying to reason her way to his motivation for asking. Every possible answer she reached seemed unlike the self-righteous man and before she knew it, she was already answering his question.

"My Dragonite, Paladin."

"My next Pokémon is my Pidgeot," Blue informed her. The corner of his lips quirked up in a smile. "You up for an aerial battle?" Aretha furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Both their Pokémon were flying types, so it would be understandable for them to be battling in the air, but…why would Blue even ask her about an aerial battle if the two Pokémon were destined for air battles in the first place?

Suddenly, the message clicked. A wide grin split Aretha's face before she could control it and she quickly sprinted back to her side of the battle. She should've known that Blue was the same kind of reckless trainer as she was. After all, she had seen all the sign in his movements—twitching, flashing eyes, restrained gestures—each reflecting her actions throughout the entire battle. "_Aerial battle?_" She heard the battle director ask in confusion. "_Well of course they'll be fighting an aerial battle. They're flying types, after all…_"

As if rehearsed, both trainers sent out their respective Pokémon. Paladin lowered himself and spread out his wings, shooting a glance over his shoulder at Aretha. She grinned at him and leapt onto his back, quickly situating herself and squeezing his sides. On the opposite side of the field, Blue climbed onto his Pidgeot in a more relaxed, calm manner. "_What are they doing? Climbing onto their Pokémon…_" Crimson eyes met green across the field and the two trainers shared a wicked smirk before both their Pokémon shot up into the sky. They circled one another in the air, waiting for the other to make the first move. Aretha felt her nerves tingle excitedly as she leaned forward slightly. She was suddenly reminded of the battles she had back home, where she was allowed to actively participate in every move.

"Pidgeot, Air Slash!"

"Dodge, Paladin!" The golden dragon easily moved out of the way, his wings beating with ease as he maneuvered around his opponents. "Ice Beam!"

"Mirror Move!" Aretha's eyes widened as the ice attack was mimicked and she frantically smacked the space between her Dragonite's shoulder blades. The two of them shot upwards, narrowly missing the frosty beam. She saw a group of cameramen on the back of a Salamance hastily rush after her from the corner of her eye and she let out an unimpressed snort. Media members. She should've known. Looking down to check Blue's position, she was startled to see another Air Slash heading her way. She leaned heavily to the right, flipping her Dragonite over and detaching herself from him. She plummeted alongside her dragon, barely aware of the screams that came to meet her from the audience below,

As she passed a shell-shocked Blue, she threw him a cheeky smirk before placing her fingers in her mouth and whistling. She flipped herself over, doing whatever she could to orient herself horizontally. In a second, a golden back appeared before her and she landed leisurely on Paladin's back. As the two of them skimmed across the battlefield, she winced, realizing how off her calculations had been. She had imagined that she was at least two hundred feet off of the ground, but either the ground was more eager than usual to rush up to meet her or she hadn't expected Blue to hover as low to the ground as she thought. _Well, too late to regret it now._

"Extremespeed Fly!" Aretha had Paladin circle the ground until they were directly underneath Blue and his Pidgeot before the two of them shot up into the sky again. She leaned slightly to the side to land a glancing blow on the bird Pokémon and threw out a hand just as the brunet was knocked off. Her hand locked on his wrist and she smiled winningly at him. Pressing down on her Dragonite's shoulders, the two of them headed down to the battlefield and Aretha rested Blue onto the ground before taking off into the air with Paladin again. "Ice Beam!"

"Return!" She heard the brunet shout from below. A smile quirked on her face as the Pidgeot received a glancing blow from the ice and turned around to attack her Dragonite. Their battle continued on for a few more moments—Paladin using Ice Beam repeatedly and Blue's Pidgeot mimicking the attack with Mirror Move. Aretha managed to help her Pokémon dodge most of the attacks, but before long, the Pidgeot was exhausted and was about to drop out of the sky. After the finishing blow, Paladin's arms wrapped around the bird's torso and he carefully made his way back to the ground, resting the fainted Pokémon before its trainer. Blue smiled at her and offered one of his hands.

Aretha grinned back at him and reached out to clasp the proffered hand. "_That was a crazy battle…_" Diamond muttered from the commentary box. "_Never try that at home, people. These trainers are professionals…at least they have proven themselves to be professionals at their work. After a battle that was terrifying for both the audience and its participants, Aretha Redwing moves onto the finals! Please restore your Pokémon and prepare for the last battle—the very battle that will determine who walks out of this as the Champion of the Hoenn Two-Part Tournament._"

* * *

"So Professor Hastings," Richard whispered, leaning into the older man. "How was that aerial battle?" The man in the magenta suit let out a begrudging grunt but gave the battle director a small smile.

"It was spectacular. And death defying on an extreme that you should _definitely make regulations for it!_Both trainers could've been seriously injured in that battle and," the Ranger Organizer growled, ranting on about how in the worst case scenario, both trainers could've died.

"Professor Hastings and Director Linenburg have been at it since the beginning. Director Linenburg would try and boast about his tournament abilities and then Professor Hastings would do whatever he could to point out all the points that the director overlooked," Pearl mused, leaning against Diamond. The two of them watched bemusedly as Nema rushed over to the two arguing men and tried to pull them apart, twittering about how the last battle would begin in a few minutes.

"Well, it's not like the two of them got along well in the beginning, anyway," Diamond sighed.

* * *

"_Alright Hoenn, the final battle will begin in approximately three minutes! We'll use this time to let the trainers get into their positions and ready themselves for the battle ahead. This time, they're allowed to swap _any _of their three Pokémon however many times they'd like with the six pokéballs they have on hand. Alright, so while our trainers get situated, let's read a few of the notes that have been left for these trainers by the other ten finalists! Here's one from Carter to Zenith, 'Keep your head up! I'll still be your friend even if you lose this one!'_," Pearl snorted in amusement. "_Isn't that reassuring?_"

"_Indeed,_" Nema agreed. "_It looks like each of Aretha's opponents have left her a message. Here's one from Harper: 'I knew something was different about you the second you stepped onto the battlefield. Show everyone how dark horse trainers can triumph over anything!' The next one's from Steven: 'It seems like you were holding back during out battle. Go all out against Zenith!' And the last one from Blue: 'At the end of this tournament, the winner is and always will be you. It doesn't matter if the trophy ends up in your hands; it doesn't matter if you don't win the end. What matters is that you show the world that anyone can stand up against established champions and renowned trainers as long as they trust their gut and follow their heart.' That's deep! Wow, it looks like Aretha has a bit of an admirer in Blue!_"

"_There are a few others for Zenith too: Wallace says, 'Do not fear defeat. Merely enjoy the battle to come.' Some wise words from Red: 'Never give up in your Pokémon and they'll never let you down.' There are a few more notes left for both trainers, but it seems that both of them are getting quite restless on the battlefield. We'll take pity on them and start the battle already. The match begins in three…two…one!_" Diamond announced.

"Leviathan!" Zenith released his Gyarados just as Aretha sent out her Arcanine. "Waterfall!"

"Dig!" In the time that she had been given to restore her Pokémon and choose her next team, Aretha had hastily rearranged Arky's moveset and deleted one of her fire moves. She had been unsure of whether she wanted to switch Heat Wave with Dig, but type coverage convinced her to give Arky a new TM. After all, what were the chances that she would ever compete in a contest again?

"_In the first few seconds, we have seen Aretha's Arcanine dodging the Gyarados's attack by digging. However, Gyarados is a dual flying and water type. Ground moves will not inflict any damage on the water Pokémon_," Richard called from above. "_But after watching a few of Aretha's confusing tactics in her earlier battles, we can assume that she is aware of this dual typing and has something else planned through first executing Dig._"

_Gyarados is a dual typing?_ Aretha quirked an eyebrow at that fact. _Huh. You learn something new every day, don't you?_ Her lips twitched in amusement. _Well, not that my plans are going to change any. But at least Arky's attack will be much more effective…_ "Leviathan, keep moving!" The blue Pokémon thrashed around on the surface of the ground, snaking from place to place. The vibrations were probably to confuse Arky, Aretha thought. She saw the ground next to Gyarados poke up a little and watched as the water Pokémon's tail curled around that area. _Bingo._

"Surface, Arky!" The Arcanine burst out of the ground, teeth bared. She resurfaced in the small patch of ground that was closed off by Leviathan's body. "Thunder Fang!" The quasi-legendary Pokémon bit down and Zenith's Gyarados let out a painful cry, jerking uncomfortably at the electric attack.

"Leviathan, Ice Fang!"

"Extremespeed!" In a blur of orange and white, Arky skidded to a stop a few feet away from the Gyarados. The blue Pokémon had lunged for where the Arcanine had been just seconds before and lifted his head warily, his body swaying from side to side as he braced himself on the ground like a serpent. The ground where Arky had resurfaced was covered in a thin layer of ice and Aretha bit her lip. She would have to be more careful with her next attack.

"Bite!" The Arcanine's lip curled upward when the Gyarados leapt toward her. She easily sidestepped the attack and the opposing Pokémon's jaws snapped at empty air.

"Thunder Fang!"

"Out of the way, Leviathan!" Aretha felt a shiver of delight and irritation as one of Arky's fangs just barely grazed the blue Pokémon. This man was a talented trainer—every one of his decisions allowed his Gyarados to avoid each attack with the minimal amount of movement. At the same time that she felt honored to fight against a trainer like him, she knew just how much she was at a disadvantage. Arky's fire moves would do little damage to the blue Pokémon—even with the S.T.A.B bonus. Any water moves used by the Gyarados would be fatal if they hit. The only effective move that her Arcanine had was only useful in close proximity—and Aretha wasn't willing to risk Arky's safety.

"Switchout!" The fire Pokémon was returned to her pokéball and Aretha sent out her next Pokémon—Crescendo. "Thunderbolt!"

"Hydro Pump!" A powerful jet of water surged out of the Gyarados's mouth, overwhelming the bolts of electricity that were thrown in his direction. Aretha grit her teeth—if Crescendo had the S.T.A.B boost and the electric typing necessary for the attack, it could've resulted in a knockout on Zenith's part. "Switchout!" Leviathan was quickly returned to his pokéball and an Aggron took the stage with a powerful cry. "Platinum, Blizzard!"

"Protect!" Crescendo took a defensive position as snow and ice began fill the air. The frozen particulates swirled around her, howling as they filled the stadium. "Thunderbolt!" Aretha yelled as the blizzard subsided.

"Iron Tail!" The Aggron's blue eyes flashed as he whirled around, using his tail to deflect the bolts of electricity. "Charge forward!"

"Hold Shadow Ball!" A purple orb pulsated in the Gardevoir's hands as she lowered her head protectively over her attack.

"Strength!" Platinum bowed his head, the horns on his head gleaming in the sunlight. If one of them were to pierce Crescendo or her attack…Aretha shuddered at the thought. However, the Gardevoir held her ground, raising her head almost defiantly at the advancing Pokémon. Aretha's heart warmed slightly at her Pokémon's actions. It seemed that Crescendo had reflected on her actions in her battle against Blue's Arcanine and wished to display her wholehearted trust in her trainer.

"Jump back, Crescendo! Release and use Protect!" Just as the distance was closing between the two Pokémon, the Gardevoir leapt back and thrust her arms out, throwing the swollen Shadow Ball at the Aggron. She withdrew her arms immediately, crossing them over her chest in a defensive manner as a semi-transparent shield covered her.

Platinum's horns pierced the Shadow Ball and the field exploded in purple and black. In the middle of it all, Aretha saw the Aggron being thrown back by the impact. "Psychic!" Crescendo's hand flew out and slammed the airborne Pokémon into the ground. "Hold another Shadow Ball!" The Gardevoir began charging another attack, crimson eyes flitting cautiously over the opposing Pokémon.

To Aretha's relief, the Aggron didn't move. "_It seems that the Gardevoir's supercharged Shadow Ball and psychic follow-up was enough to knock out Zenith's Aggron!_" Richard the battle director announced from above.

"Avius!" Zenith sent out his Pelipper, pointing directly at Aretha's Gardevoir. "Hydro Pump!"

"Protect!" Crescendo crossed her arms defensively over her chest just as the water slammed into her shield.

"Ice Beam!" The water froze over and became jagged ice logs. The protective shield in front of the Gardevoir shattered and she was knocked backwards.

"Crescendo!" Aretha took a step forward helplessly as her Pokémon slammed into the ground. At the Embrace Pokémon's limp form, Aretha swallowed a lump in her throat and returned the fainted Pokémon into her pokéball. "Good job, sweetheart," she whispered, pecking the top of the pokéball reassuringly. "Evanescent!" Her Swampert was thrown out onto the field and he steadied himself on his feet with a loud cry. "Surf!"

"Fly!" The Pelipper rose into the air, hovering directly over the Swampert before diving straight down. _Bingo_, Aretha thought as the bird Pokémon neared.

"Stone Edge!" Evanescent's arm became cloaked in rocks and he thrust his fist upward, slamming straight into the plummeting Pokémon. Zenith's Avius let out a startled squawk as he tumbled to the side. "One more time!" Twisting around, the water Pokémon slammed his arm down on the Pelipper, effectively knocking the bird out.

Aretha lifted her eyes to meet Zenith's as her Swampert stepped away from the fainted bird Pokémon. _One more left_, she thought. The Hoenn Champion gazed back at her, a mixture of approval and somberness crossing his face. He returned Avius to his pokéball and sent Leviathan back onto the field. "Ice Fang!"

"Dodge, Evanescent!" She should've known better than to keep her Pokémon out on the field. Gyaradoses were much faster than Swamperts and this proved to be true as Leviathan sank his fangs into Evanescent's side. _Please don't freeze, please don't freeze_, Aretha pleaded inwardly as the Gyarados released his target. Her Pokémon fell to the ground, ice frosting over his limbs. She grit her teeth and quickly returned him to his pokéball before pulling out her last capsule. She could've kept him out on the field for a little longer and hope that he defrost, but there was nothing stopping Zenith's Gyarados from dealing the finishing blow before Evanescent could overcome his status condition.

"Arky!" The Arcanine burst out of her pokéball, fur bristling as she recognized the Pokémon standing across from her on the field. "Don't get hit," Aretha whispered and the fire Pokémon's ear twitched to show that she had heard.

"Leviathan, Waterfall!"

"Out of the way, Arky!" The quasi-legendary Pokémon sidestepped the attack and leapt forward, teeth bared.

"Waterfall!" The Gyarados summoned water to storm down where he stood and the Arcanine recoiled quickly, retreating back to where her trainer was. "Again!" Lunging forward, Zenith's Leviathan released a powerful blast of water.

"Down!" Arky ducked underneath the spray and leapt up, almost face to face with the blue Pokémon. "Thunder—"

"Hydro Pump!" The Arcanine barely twisted out of the way, the fur on her belly being soaked by the forceful stream of water. She bared her fangs, ready to sink her teeth into the Gyarados's neck before a powerful wave of fear washed over her. Arky twisted her head to the side just in time to see the attack she had dodged head straight for where Aretha was standing. The black-haired girl stared at the advancing water, body rigid and paralyzed. In that second, their eyes locked and the trainer gave her Pokémon a reassuring smile, as if encouraging her to continue on with her attack.

For the first time in the history of her life, Arky disobeyed her trainer's wishes and stopped her attack. Instead, she pushed off of the opposing Pokémon's neck and used Extremespeed to charge back at her trainer. Screams filled the stadium as the Arcanine opened her mouth, leaping at Aretha just as the wave of water crashed down on her.

* * *

"_Wh—what happened there?_" Nema's panicked shout blasted through the speakers.

"_Zenith's Gyarados had unleashed a powerful Hydro Pump and when Aretha's Arcanine dodged the attack, Aretha was put into the move's path. Instead of attacking the Gyarados, the Arcanine turned and raced back to her owner. But…did the move hit?_"

Their question was answered by a deafening snarl from Aretha's side of the battlefield. The cameras quickly angled themselves to show Arky with her hackles raised and teeth bared. Barely holding onto the Arcanine's shoulder was Aretha, who was staring unseeingly at the ground. The fire Pokémon glared at the cameras before turning her head to check on her trainer. Giving Aretha a reassuring lick, the Arcanine sprang forward, closing the distance between herself and Leviathan before slamming into the Gyarados's side. The blue Pokémon lurched in surprise and let out an anguished scream as Arky sank her fangs into his body, pushing whatever energy and hatred she had into her attack.

Releasing the Gyarados with a growl, Arky stalked away from the fainted Pokémon and headed back to where Aretha was standing. "_My God…Paramedics, please head to the scene immediately!_" Several medical technicians raced to where the black-haired girl was, but the second they were three feet away from the trainer, they were greeted by the sound of pokéballs bursting open and several Pokémon standing defensively in front of their owner. "_What's this? There's a Mightyena, a Togekiss, and a Dragonite standing around Aretha! They're not letting the paramedics get through!_"

* * *

Her vision flooded with blue and brown before she became aware of the warm, shaking mass beside her. Arky pressed up against her side and snarled at anyone who got too close to the black-haired girl, her hackles rising in warning. Aretha took in her surroundings, faintly recognizing the figures of Pokémon pressing up against her on all sides. Suddenly, she could breathe again and she felt her fingers twitch when she tested her limbs experimentally. Immediately, all growls ceased and her Pokémon turned to look hopefully at her as she pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Are you okay, Miss?" She looked up to see a man in a dark blue shirt and black slacks take a hesitant step forward. Immediately, Paladin and Arky bristled at the advancement, but relaxed begrudgingly when she ran her hand down their backs.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Well, as fine as a trainer can be after an intense Pokémon battle." The rush of footsteps turned her attention to the man who was rushing toward her. She offered him a small smile. "Hey Zenith. Did I win?" The Hoenn Champion stared at her for a few long seconds before his face split into an exasperated grin.

"Yeah," he whispered. "Congratulations." He turned around and he pressed his forefinger to his thumb, spreading the rest of his fingers as he lifted his hand to the nearest camera.

"_Aretha is alright! After we let her rest for a little bit, we'll resume the match—_" Nema was quickly cut off by Richard.

"_Resume the match? Nema, Aretha's already won! All of Zenith's Pokémon have been knocked out._" A wide, disbelieving smile split the battle director's face. "_Alright Hoenn, you have the Champion of your Tournament. After a terrifying display of skill, clever tactics, and a stunt that nearly drove all of us out of our skins, we present you, Aretha Redwing, as the winner of this Two-Part Tournament. Once the paramedics are finished down in the stadium, Aretha's Pokémon have been seen to, and the battlefield is cleared, we will have our awards ceremony._"

* * *

Wally dropped his head into his hands as the stadium was hastily tidied up. It was absurd how the battle director could announce that the awards ceremony would begin in a few minutes after half the stadium was convinced that Aretha could have been severely injured during the battle. But with the ease that Richard Linenburg operated the battle system, Wally was almost convinced that events where trainers' lives were at risk were not uncommon amongst high-class trainers. Around him, he could hear the excited and shocked whispers of all the other trainers in the stadium seats as they tried to make sense of the entire ordeal.

"God, I thought she died," a voice whispered from Wally's left.

"These trainers are crazy," another laughed shakily. "I'm glad I'm not one of the top twelve."

"But they were pretty amazing, weren't they?" A third hissed with a note of admiration. "Who knows how long it took for them to get this good?"

"That girl down there's a prodigy, that's what," the fourth chimed in. "I would love to battle against her…without all the crazy aerial battles and everything." Wally let out a long sigh, startling all four of the people who were chatting away about the battle and lifted his face to watch tournament runners pull a podium and a makeshift stage onto the cleared battlefield. _Aretha, you are going to be the death of us all_, he thought. _As if your little incident in the double battle wasn't freaky enough._

* * *

"…and we would like to present Blue Oak with thirty rare candies and a bronze trophy for placing third in a tournament of one hundred trainers!" The stadium cheered as the brunet stepped forward to receive his prize. He smiled winningly at the crowd before stepping down to join the eleven trainers who had been singled out as the top twelve battlers. The nine trainers who had been unable to advance into the last two battles were awarded one of each elemental stone and three pearls. Red slung his arm around Blue's shoulder and whispered his congratulations.

"Next, we will award Zenith Sterlight with twenty jars of honey, one Old Gateau, and a silver trophy for placing second in this tournament!" Everyone clapped as the Hoenn Champion accepted his reward and bowed to the crowd. "Finally, we present Aretha Redwing with one Shell Bell, one Leftovers, a coupon for the next fifty special pokéballs that are crafted by Kurt of Azalea Town, and a gold trophy for placing first in the first ever Two-Part Hoenn Championship! Congratulations, Aretha!"

The black-haired girl smiled as she stepped forward to take her prize, but just as she stepped away from the top twelve, a frantic cry split the air in two. She whirled around just in time to see an Absol leap from the stadium seats and land in the middle of the battlefield, hissing and spitting. Close behind the Absol was a Riolu with a fairly prominent scar on his shoulder. "What's going on? Someone get that Absol!"

"_Apocalypse_!" Aretha yelled. The disaster Pokémon stiffened and turned his gaze onto her, his crimson eyes frenzied. He began to screech desperately at her, hackles raising when she took a hesitant step forward. "What's wro—" She felt the air tense suddenly and she turned her head to see a portal emerging from thin air. The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees as several Pokémon stepped out, each surrounded by an ominous black shadow.

"What's this? Legendary Pokémon?" Richard straightened immediately.

"Someone catch them!" Someone in the crowd yelled.

"They're mine!" Another shouted, throwing a pokéball at one of towering legendary Pokémon. The capture capsule bounced off of the blue and silver Pokémon and it let out a low growl as it turned its red eyes onto the crowd.

"Giratina, Darkrai," Aretha heard Blue whisper as he broke off from the crowd and headed to her side. "Palkia, Dialga…" His eyes widened in horror as a final Pokémon came out of the portal, glowing white and gold. "_Arceus._"

"_Sol!_" Apocalypse snarled, baring his teeth at the advancing legendaries.

"Aretha!" Wally threw himself over the railing and raced onto the field. "What the heck is going on?"

"I don't know," she shouted back at him. "I—" She broke off, seeing the dark gleam in Giratina's eye. "Arky, my bag!" She snapped, sprinting toward her Absol. Arky, who had been lounging around during the awards, snatched up the bag and bounded toward her trainer. "Apocalypse!" The disaster Pokémon stiffened at his name just as a portal burst open behind him. Aretha tackled him just as Giratina swooped in, sending both of them through the space rift. Arky leapt into the portal without hesitation, disappearing right after her trainer. Giratina let out a furious cry before diving into the rift, the portal closing in once his tail disappeared into the chaotic gate.

"Aretha!" Blue yelled, sprinting after her.

"Wait—Blue—wait!" Wally begged. He was too late, however, when the brunet's body disappeared through the closing hole. Glancing back at the trainers who were rushing after them, the chartreuse-haired man leapt through the portal after his two friends, the space rift sealing shut just as his foot slipped through.

* * *

A/N: Well that escalated quickly. I hope you all were anticipating the aerial battle that Professor Hastings and Richard Linenburg alluded to in the earlier chapter...and I hope you enjoyed it as well!

So I'm guessing that everyone had an extremely busy Christmas Eve and Christmas because I only received one review and four views on Thursday (and it was on the first chapter, mind you). You guys probably were rushing to get all the last-minute Christmas preparations finished but I guess only one of you were desperate enough to read the most recent chapter, although I'm guessing that you have any time to review for me. I'm a bit sad, but I understand how chaotic Christmas can become.

Anyway, enough of me complaining about how Fanfiction pretty much shut down on me yesterday and how nobody was going crazy on Fanfic on Christmas. Let's do a reader shout-out even though I doubt this person has gotten to the most recent chapter in two days!

**4fireking** - Thank you for trying out this story! I'm not sure if you got a hold of this story before or after I changed the summary, but yes, May is part of the story. She plays a small role in the beginning, but you'll have to stick with me for a while longer if you want to find out if she's really significant at all (aside from just pushing the plot along).

Note: I finally found a black 2 rom that works! I'll probably be taking a break from writing to indulge in some amazing Pokemoning, but I will try to upload the next chapter in the next week or so. Please be patient! And tell your friends about this story!

Keep calm and read on, my friends! R&R!


	16. Distortion Darkness

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

Before I forget, I need to ask you guys something. I have plans to write another fanfic on the basis that the main character is a Professor's assistant, but I need to know what you guys think of it. Would it be something that you would read?

* * *

Aretha pushed off gently from the wall, landing carefully on the ground adjacent to the hovering earth. Wally followed hesitantly, his steps less confident than the black-haired girl's. Blue took the rear, calmly following wherever Apocalypse was leading their trainer trio with the same, practiced ease that Aretha had in each stride she took. Out of the three of them, Aretha was the first to feel disoriented, but Wally was the one who threw up twice within the next seven hours. Blue seemed unaffected by the nonexistent law of physics that ruled the Distorted Realm and carried on the tail to make sure that the chartreuse-haired man before him wouldn't be left behind.

After a few more miles of trekking, Apocalypse stopped before a large clump of trees. Wally stiffened when the forest disappeared before the Absol, but didn't say a word as the disaster Pokémon lead them on. Apocalypse sniffed the air twice before nodding at the trainers behind him, signaling that it was alright for them to set up camp. Wordlessly, Aretha set her bag down and pulled out a few biscuits that she had taken earlier on in the morning. Wally and Blue settled down around her, accepting whatever food she passed their way. She turned and fed Apocalypse, who daintily ate them from his trainer's hand.

After a few minutes of soft chewing noises, Aretha spoke. "You two never should have come." Wally felt his temper flare and Blue's eyes immediately narrowed in distaste. "It's too dangerous out here."

"What? And a sixteen-year-old would be able to survive much better than two grown men would?" The chartreuse haired-man snapped.

"It's easier to keep track of one trainer," Aretha shot back coolly. Her eyes flickered to the depleting biscuit rations before she lifted her gaze back to the other trainers.

"None of us were prepared for whatever was going to happen," Blue stepped in, a warning look in his eyes. "You might as well deal with it, Aretha. One trainer is easier to manage, but safety comes in numbers. If you haven't noticed, Wally and I have all of our Pokémon with us as well." A bitter look crossed the girl's face and she turned her face away. Apocalypse padded up to the makeshift circle and sat down next to his trainer. Beside him, Quartz glanced uneasily at the black-haired girl.

A tender and concerned expression filled her eyes as she gently stroked the Absol's head. Blue watched as her tentative movements feathered over the black-and-white creature. Her actions relayed a feeling of fear, a feeling of uncertainty. The way that she treated her Absol made it seem as if she believed he would shatter at the slightest touch. After a little bit, Aretha reached her hand out to the Riolu, gently pulling him onto her lap. She buried her face into his shoulder and let out a soft sigh, suddenly looking exhausted and much more childlike than she had appeared a few minutes ago.

This was a girl who was not used to being away from home, the brunet realized. He had long been independent—his parents had died when he was young and despite the kind conditions his grandfather raised him in, he refused to accept sympathy and did whatever he could to get out in the world—where he would be his own person. Now that he thought about it, none of his friends seemed to be as sheltered as Aretha seemed to be. All of the current regional champions—not including Zenith—lacked a fatherly figure in their lives. Each and every one of them was an independent force on their own, capable of taking care of themselves and making their own decisions. Looking at Aretha now, he saw a lack of that strong mentality.

Blue scooted closer to the black-haired girl and wrapped an arm around her. The Riolu in her lap—Quartz, was it?—stiffened slightly, but begrudgingly relaxed when Aretha rested her head against the brunet's shoulder. The Viridian City gym leader was faintly aware of Wally's pale blue eyes burning into the side of his head, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Although it wasn't exactly obvious, it was undeniable that Aretha had gone through hard times and somehow stumbled off her path. Right now, all she needed was comfort and compassion.

Suddenly, the Absol at her side stiffened and leapt to his feet, sniffing the air frantically. Blue felt Aretha tense beside him as the black-and-white Pokémon took off into the distance, leaving the three trainers behind. Immediately, everyone was on their feet. "Quartz—trace him!" The Riolu sprinted after the fleeing Pokémon, followed closely by three trainers. Blue quickly took his position in the back, a little voice in the back of his head praying that Wally wouldn't experience an asthma attack while they ran. It wouldn't be surprising if the chartreuse-haired man had left his inhaler behind in all the chaos that had happened on the tournament grounds.

Before he knew it, Blue was being sucked into a black portal. The last thing he saw before he was completely swallowed in darkness was Wally's legs disappearing in front of him. "Aretha?" He heard the man cry out uncertainly into the darkness. The sounds coming from ahead alerted the brunet that the three of them were still running, although Wally's footsteps sounded a lot less uncertain.

"Keep running!" Blue heard the black-haired girl call from ahead. The world around them suddenly lit up bright red, grotesque, black figures rising from the sides and lurching toward them. He heard Wally draw in a shuddering gasp and tried to focus on the man in front of him. It was no use—Blue could feel the dread chilling his spine even as he quickened his pace, adrenaline energizing his every step. Although he had never been chased like this in real life, he had experienced plenty of nightmares where he would be chased through the woods—or through some alleyway. Each and every time, whatever was chasing him would catch up.

Something wrapped around his arm and he stumbled, nearly crashing to the ground. He spun around wildly, trying to see whatever was holding onto him. One of the gooey figures had captured him, its arms melting into a ring around him. He arched in an attempt to stay away from the black tendrils that were circling his back, but it was no use. Suddenly, a face began forming on the black, misshapen head. Blue could only stare as the creature morphed into his mother, her tender brown eyes gazing at him as the black figure—no, as she drew closer.

"Oh Blue," she whispered softly, a disbelieving smile crossing her face. "You've grown up to be such a beautiful man." Her eyes traveled over his features. "You have your father's eyes…" These words jolted him out of his trance. He began to struggle wildly, trying to do whatever he could to distance himself from the creature. His dad had grey eyes. "Hush, hush," she cooed, frowning slightly when she realized her mistake. The black goo around him tightening significantly in response to his reaction. Blue felt the air being forced out of his body as he continued to fight against her. "It's alright, sweetheart. Sleep. Mother will take care of—"

"_Ice Beam!_" A look of shock crossed the figure's face as a blue ray froze the tendrils connecting Blue to her body. "Take down!" A blue-and-white body slammed into the frozen object, shattering whatever was left of it. "Blue—over here, quick!" His senses going on overdrive, Blue sprinted toward whoever was calling out to him. "Onto Altaria!" Only one of his arms were freed from the black gunk. Unfortunately, the enraged screech from behind him informed him that he wouldn't have time to break the frozen goo off. He leapt onto the blue-and-white Pokémon's back, teetering dangerously backwards as he tried to balance himself.

An arm shot out and steadied him before wrapping around his shoulders firmly. "Fly, Altaria! Get us out of here!" Blue felt wind blast him in the face as the Pokémon dove forward, charging headfirst. Squinting, he made out a small circle of white as the wind stung his eyes. They were headed straight for it—at a speed that seemed almost impossible for an Altaria. It was probably having an adrenaline rush as well, he thought dazedly, trying to see out of his watery eyes. "Almost there!" He heard Wally yell from his left.

Suddenly, as if they had just slammed into the wall of a giant bubble, they burst through, tumbling off of the Pokémon's back as they landed onto pebbly terrain. Blue winced as the round stones dug slightly into his shoulders and the pain quickly helped him reorient himself. He leapt to his feet, spinning around to face the portal they had just leapt out of. His mother's face watched him from the closing space rift, a look of disapproval and bitterness marring her beautiful features. When the portal closed, Blue fell to his knees, shaking violently.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Hands were at his shoulders in seconds and he flinched, trying to back away from whoever was reaching for him. "It's me, Wally. Come on, Blue, let me help you." Gentle hands pried whatever was left of the frozen gunk off of his arms. "Calm down. Take deep breaths, deep breaths…" The brunet obeyed willingly, forcing his lungs open. After a few moments, he relaxed and let out a shaky sigh. "All better now?" Blue looked up to see Wally's pale eyes staring quizzically at him.

"Almost," the brunet replied. "So, are you some psychologist in disguise or do you just know how to deal with panic attacks?" He asked with a half-hearted smirk. The chartreuse-haired man relaxed immediately, a rueful smile playing on his lips.

"And suddenly he's back on his feet like nothing happened," Wally muttered, shaking his head fondly. "I had nightmares often as a kid. You know, scary stories passed on by neighboring kids and whatnot. I was particularly scared of one Pokémon…" He chewed his lip thoughtfully. "But that's a story for another day. Eventually, my mom took me to a specialist and she pretty much made my body remember that receiving oxygen was its first priority by giving me breathing exercises. I would hold my breath for several moments, or occasionally, I stayed overnight at the clinic she worked in and she would make sure to be by my side whenever my nightmares surfaced. Over time, I gained control of the situation, and…yeah." He shrugged nonchalantly, as if his childhood struggles were of little importance.

Blue watched the chartreuse-haired man, suddenly seeing him a new light. A small smile touched his lips and he patted the younger man firmly on the back. "Thanks," he murmured softly. Wally smiled appreciatively at him as the brunet took in their surroundings. "Where are we?" Blue wondered aloud. "And where's Aretha?"

"Sendoff Springs, Sinnoh." Both men jumped at her voice. She was staring at a feather in her hand, turning it over and over again in her fingers. "According to the Pokétch regional app that I have," she added, tearing her eyes from the object in her hands. Blue noted with a shiver that her irises were laced with red. "Do either of you recognize this feather?" She stepped forward, offering the object in question.

Blue took it carefully, frowning as he looked it over. He reached for his back pocket and felt a wave of relief wash over him as he pulled out an old, familiar case. The black figure in the portal tunnel hadn't got to it. "Is that one of the first Pokédexes?" Wally whispered in awe. The brunet smiled, remembering how it had been a present from his grandfather when he reached the age of ten. It had become a fond memory—after all, he rarely had to check it anymore when it came to identifying whatever Pokémon were coming in to challenge him in Viridian City. After all, it wasn't often that Kanto received visitors from other regions. He had considered replacing it with one of the newer models, but had never gotten around to doing it. After all, the object was too nostalgic to discard so easily.

"Hopefully it'll be able to identify whatever Pokémon this feather came from," Blue said, holding the thin object underneath the scanner on the Pokédex. He glanced up at Aretha. "By the way, where's Apocalypse?" A hard look crossed the girl's face and she looked away with pursed lips.

"Gone," she replied. "I came out of the portal first and he tackled me the second I landed. He left this feather with me and then took off before I could catch my breath." A rueful smile crossed her face. "At least Quartz didn't go after him this time."

"This time?" Wally echoed, frowning slightly.

"A story for another day," she sighed, using his own words against him. A small beeping noise from the Pokédex alerted Blue that the machine had identified whatever feather he had held up against it.

"Pidgey," he said, skimming the results skeptically. "A Pidgey, of all Pokémon? Pidgeys are all over Kanto and Johto—we could be looking for months!" Aretha, however, had an unreadable expression on her face as she knelt down beside the brunet.

"Are there any cities that are famous for Pidgeys?" She asked urgently. "Flying type gyms—particular traditions with Pidgeys?" At her words, Blue frowned slightly.

"There are no flying type gyms in Kanto. I think Violet City in Johto has a flying type gym," he said slowly, testing each word on the tip of his tongue. "I can't be sure if they're famous for Pidgeys or not."

"Fair enough," Aretha replied, getting to her feet quickly. "We need head over there immediately."

"Why? To chase after a stray Absol?" Wally spluttered. "If you haven't forgotten, there are some Sinnoh legendaries wandering around Hoenn! Speaking of which, why the hell are they there anyway?"

"Because that's where all the best trainers were," Aretha told him distractedly, eyes focused on her Pokétch. "Not to mention that, it was on multi-regional television. Breaking into the tournament on the last day, where the top three trainers were being rewarded would most definitely catch a lot of attention. They want to broadcast a message."

"And that message is?" The chartreuse man asked.

"I don't know," she grit out. "I understand that all the regions are on red-alert right now, but I'm more concerned with Apocalypse at this moment. If you haven't noticed, he was the one who alerted all of us of the Legendaries' presence. He has some sort of idea of what's going on, but the question is…why?" She pulled a pokéball out of her bag and quickly sent out a Dragonite. "Paladin and I will be heading straight for Violet City. Feel free to come along, but do not feel obligated to do so. I'm sure the Legendaries are your first priority at this moment," she said as she climbed onto her Pokémon's back.

"Go back, Wally," Blue said suddenly, getting onto his feet. The chartreuse-haired man stared at the Viridian City gym leader in alarm. "Tell everyone that we're okay. I'm going to help Aretha find her Absol."

"Are you crazy?" Wally hissed, grabbing the brunet's arm.

"Quite," Blue replied coolly, tugging himself free from the other man's grasp. "I'm assuming you don't know very much about the region you're heading toward," he said, addressing Aretha. "I have the phone numbers of Carter and Felix, who are the Champions of Johto and Sinnoh, respectively. I know Kanto like the back of my hand and I assume that you're well educated in the geography of Hoenn." Aretha nodded at him and he continued, "Can your Dragonite carry two people?" His eyes studied the golden Pokémon critically, noting how the creature was smaller than his species usually were.

"Risky," she said. "But is your Pidgeot going to be fast enough to catch up?"

"Pidgeots are faster than Dragonites."

"Paladin and I are more than aware of that. However, we both intend to use Extremespeed during the flight."

"That'll tire both of you out quickly. Seeing how both of us are well acquainted with aerial battles, I propose that the two of us ride on your Dragonite's back for a certain duration of time before switching onto my Pidgeot. That'll give both Pokémon time to rest while also allowing the other to travel at full speed." Aretha frowned slightly at his suggestion, but eventually agreed to it. Blue climbed onto Paladin's back after her, wrapping his arms around her middle.

"I can't come with you?" Wally asked uncertainly as the two of them took into the air.

"Your Altaria won't be able to keep up with either Paladin or Blue's Pidgeot," Aretha told him. "Besides, you'll tire him out before we're even halfway to Johto. Head back to Hoenn and tell everyone where we're going." She hesitated before adding, "Not that we'll be there for very long." Blue nodded at Wally before Paladin took off into the distance, increasing the distance between them and the chartreuse-haired man before the trainer was a mere speck on the ground. Aretha's legs squeezed the Dragonite's sides and he shot forward, slowly gaining altitude in order to avoid crashing into Pokémon that like to fly at lower heights.

* * *

Wally fidgeted uncomfortably as he and a group of trainers headed up to a large daycare. Everyone had been relieved to hear that Blue and Aretha were both safe, but Zenith was adamant in bringing the news personally to the girl's family. Quite a few trainers agreed that it would be the best choice of action although the others insisted that a phone call would be enough. Eventually, Zenith won the argument and he retrieved Aretha's home information from the tournament database. The next day, he and a few trainers gathered together with Wally to inform Aretha's family of her general location.

Zenith walked into the building first, his expression calm and relaxed as the bell attached to the door rang loudly. May, Red, and Wally stepped in after him, their strides less confident than the Hoenn Champion's. "Coming!" The chartreuse-haired man heard faintly in the background as shuffling feet neared the counter at the front of the daycare. A stocky man with salt-and-pepper stepped forward, a small smile on his face. He had a kind look in his dark eyes and laugh wrinkles around them. "Hi, what can I do for you?" He asked pleasantly.

"Mr. Redwing, is it?" May asked.

"Yes," the man replied, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. It seemed uncommon for people to call him by that name—or at least know it at all. "But I usually go by Frank."

"Frank, I'm Zenith Sterlight. I organized the Hoenn Two-Part Tournament that your daughter Aretha participated in," Zenith stepped forward, his hand outstretched. Frank looked at him with a fearful expression his face, as if expecting the worst. "Your daughter is safe. She's currently looking for her Absol with one of our friends. I received a phone call last night that said that she had stopped by Veilstone City in Sinnoh."

"Of course," the man huffed fondly. "She's always going out on her own…"

"Frank, who's out there?" A skinny woman appeared behind him, craning her neck slightly to get a look at everyone who was standing in the lobby of the daycare.

"These are participants from the tournament that Aretha was in," he told her. "Everyone, this is my wife, Tiffany."

"Pleased to meet you," she said tightly. "Is she alright?"

"Unharmed," Red replied. He stepped forward hesitantly, holding out duffel bag. "These are Aretha's things. Her roommate helped pack her clothes and we put the prizes that she won inside as well." Aretha's mother took the bag from him and quickly muttered something to her husband before disappearing into the back of the daycare. Red and Wally shared an uncomfortable look, confused by the woman's fidgety behavior.

"Don't mind my wife," Frank told them. "She usually doesn't get to see Aretha often because of her work. She's just a bit jittery right now, but she'll calm down soon enough." He smiled kindly at them. "Would you like to come in? I've always been interested in hearing how Aretha was doing during the tournament—away from all the cameras, that is."

"We'd love to," May said.

* * *

Blaine began lining up dominos, weaving them around in various patterns as he crossed the floor on all fours to set them. Mewtwo watched his trainer set up the dominos lazily, raising an eyebrow slightly whenever the scientist nearly knocked over his entire creation. So predictable, the purple-and-white Pokémon thought with a huff. Dominos were a perfect way to describe the destructive and creative nature of humans. They loved building intricate patterns, something that was painstakingly crafted and forged before they destroyed it all with a single decision.

However, he was aware that they didn't represent all that mankind did. There was no experimentation to dominos—they were each rectangular shapes that rested on one end and not the other. Humans were dreadfully obsessed with mutation, evolution, experimentation, and power that they had gone out of their way to create beasts of destruction—beasts that could destroy their creations for them. Mewtwo scowled at this thought, clenching his three, circular fingers together in irritation. He is one of these creations—one of the only successful few. However, he heard from his little bird—a messenger he was very reluctant to name—that Pokémon were adapting to meet whatever was urged of them by the humans. After all, what seemed to be an impossible breeding was possible and suddenly legendary Pokémon were taking ordinary Pokémon as mates.

Legendary Pokémon were considered genderless by humans, but in reality, they were hermaphrodites. Each reproduced in a slightly different way in order to ensure that there would be a future generation to carry on their legacy. For centuries, legendary Pokémon bred with one another, staying only long enough to ensure that their offspring would most definitely see passage into the world. They relied on one another merely for mating purposes and cared little for bonding, which was much more common amongst regular Pokémon. Since legendary Pokémon often outlived regular Pokémon, it would be too cruel for them to take a mate with a shorter lifespan than themselves.

The new generation was definitely more liberal than the last, Mewtwo observed. These new legendaries chose not to breed with one another but rather with Pokémon that they saw fit. Although every mate that they chose was considerably unique and skilled, it was still disconcerting to see legendary Pokémon suddenly breaking tradition and mating with whoever they wished. Mewtwo himself, being the only one of his species, was hesitant to breed. He knew in the back of his mind that it would be necessary to pass his genes on to the next generation of Mewtwos, but he was unsure of whether he wished for his offspring to live in a world where trainers would track them down relentlessly.

Also, since he is the first of his speicies, he wasn't sure when his life would end. There were times where he felt moments of weakness, but they never lasted long and were rare. His life span was uncertain—would he live as long as a Relicanth or be dead within a few years, like a Raticate? Mewtwo snorted at this thought and shook his head. He heard Blaine lift his head from his dominos, but otherwise say nothing. The purple-and-white Pokémon ignored his trainer and looked instead in his other "companion's" direction.

The man leisurely stroked the Persian at his side, sharp brown eyes studying the mirror before him. It was a mirror that Mewtwo had crafted in order to keep himself grounded to what was happening outside of the space rift that the he lived in. It also was a good way for discovering abandoned food shares or stealing from supermarkets in order to sustain the lives of himself, the Cresselia that he had saved a week ago, and the two humans who lived with him. The purple-and-white Pokémon watched the Lunar Pokémon lift her head to the silver screen, the expression in her eyes unreadable.

She had long accepted that this space rift was the safest place for her to hide at this moment in time. However, it was obvious that she was desperate to escape from this prison—after all, she was still a free Pokémon and could be enslaved to a human's command. And with the dangerous brunet who was known for his interest in legendary, powerful Pokémon, Cresselia spent every waking moment in a wary fear. Mewtwo himself was safe because of his partnership with Blaine, but he understood why the Lunar Pokémon was so reluctant to allow her capture. Although she was still in danger of being captured by the goons who were snatching legendary Pokémon left and right, she wished to have complete freedom—to be owned by no human—to be commanded by no human—to be able to make whatever choice she wanted.

There were times when Mewtwo gazed out into the plains after taking his cloned Pokémon to a safe region where they could settle down. He would think of the little girl that had laughed and giggled with him when he had still been developing in the labs and how enraged he had been when he finally retrieved those lost memories. He would think of the Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur that played by his side before each of their bodies collapsed onto them and they left the world and him alone. He wondered what it would have been like if all five of them had lived together—played together under the sun—without any care in the world. No one to answer to. No one to fear. No one to harm.

Of course, he eventually was found by Blaine, who had revealed himself as the man who donated a few of his cells to assist in the creation of Mewtwo. The purple-and-white Pokémon reluctantly accepted a partnership between himself and the human, although it was required that he spend the rest of his life sealed away in a capsule that could either shrink to the size of a golf ball or enlarge to the size of an orange. The balance of power between the two of them felt unequal, but he accepted it nonetheless. After all, their partnership has yet to show a sign of unbalance because of the level of respect they held towards one another.

A soft clicking noise caught his attention and he turned to see that Blaine had knocked over a few dominos by accident. The scientist muttered a few half-hearted curses under his breath and quickly managed to stop the entire structure from collapsing. This earned a snort of amusement from Mewtwo—humans were so easily irritated. The most intelligent were often perfectionists, he thought. The smallest mistake was rewarded with words that would make—what was the phrase that humans were so fond of? Words so dirty they could make a sailor blush.

Mewtwo was growing restless. It was undeniable that the clones he had settled in a faraway region could be targeted by the organization responsible for the disappearance of several Sinnoh legendaries. As they trumped regular Pokémon in all possible ways, he became increasingly aware of how they could be exploited for their abilities. This thought disturbed him to the point that Blaine had lifted his head from his dominos to look at him. "Mewtwo, calm down. I don't think it's necessary to smash any of the items we have right now." The purple-and-white Pokémon blinked at his trainer's words and looked up. His distress played with his powers and began lifting various objects from their places.

With a note of surprise, Mewtwo released the power he held over the items and Blaine returned to his dominos. The Pokémon tested his hand again, clenching and unclenching his fingers repeatedly. He hadn't lost control over his power ever since he had been restrained by various machines. Emotions were strange things, he learned. Perhaps he was much more human than he initially believed.

"Almost time?" Blaine asked suddenly, sitting up from his dominos. He studied them thoughtfully before lifting his head to the brunet with the Persian.

"Close," the shadowed man replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he watched a black-haired girl and a brunet jump off of a Dragonite's back. "Very close. When all the cards are revealed…it'll be time to play our hand." He paused, a sentimental look crossing his face. "To think that such a little girl could grow to oppose villainy in every single way," he whispered, shaking his head.

"Pardon?" The scientist asked.

"Nothing of significance," the man replied, tickling his Persian under his chin.

_Everything is if significance_, Mewtwo huffed.

"How ironic coming from the Pokémon who challenged his own existence," the brunet snorted in response. Blaine looked back and forth between Mewtwo and the man worriedly, wiping the sweat from his bald crown. "Some secrets must be held before the unmasking. After all, what's a plot without some twists?"

_Plot_, Mewtwo thought irritably, _you make it sound as if we're nothing but imaginary creatures playing a role._ The brunet ignored him, staring instead at the silver disk and the scenes flashing over it.

"All the world's a stage," he replied quietly. The purple-and-white Pokémon narrowed his eyes at these words, but held his tongue when Blaine shot him a warning glance. The scientist shook his head with a huff, turning back to his dominos. "When we meet the spider in his den, the world will suddenly make sense."

"Indeed. Just like a domino," Blaine murmured, tapping the domino he started with. He watched as it knocked into the next, and the next, and the next, continuing on until the pillars he created were all resting on one another. "Just like a domino."

* * *

Nightmares were not uncommon. Everyone has something they fear, regardless of whether or not they deny it. Sometimes you fight against your fears, other times you submit to them. Both are difficult tasks—one endangers your sanity, the other your pride. Each nightmare holds a fear, no matter how trivial, and each nightmare reveals the fragility of each person's mind. Nightmares and darkness go hand in hand, but humans saw that in such extreme measures that they were unable to realize the truths and benefits that came from these horrible things.

Nightmares allowed people to recognize the fear they held and fight against it. Darkness was a cloak that blinded people and heightened all their other senses. In darkness, what you can't see can't hurt you—or at least, you won't be aware of what can hurt you before it strikes. In darkness, what you hear causes a rush of fear and adrenaline to run through your veins, but over time, you can grow accustomed and grow stronger from that experience, or you can lose your sanity and allow yourself to be overwhelmed by those fears. It is unknown whether children fall victim to this reality more often than adults, because the fears that begin in childhood can be an adult's greatest downfall in his later years.

Darkrai was more than aware of these truths. After all, it had been created by them, and from them, began to act as a terrifying force. It followed what humans believed in—Darwinism. Those who were weak would not be able to pass on their genes and live to see another sunrise. Where nature tested a human's physical limits, Darkai saw to the edges of their mental adaptability. Many people had fallen victim to its nightmares and all the horrors within them, but very few were able to wake from that slumber.

Of course, where there is cruelty, there is compassion. Cresselia, Darkrai's counterpart, stood for hope and the ability to survive. Where she was kind and forgiving, it was hard and reproachful. Polar opposites. She saved those Darkrai targeted, making it much more difficult to create a world where only the strong survived. She held the same, weak compassion that humans held toward one another. Why give such twisted and corruptive creatures a second chance? Why allow them to live off the deaths of others? Why support these fragile, destructive humans when the world would be better off without them? Cresselia's actions were irrational, Darkrai decided. Hence she must be converted or eliminated.

But she had been saved before Darkrai and his partners could capture her. The nightmare Pokémon remembered powerful her man-made rescuer's eyes had been. They held a strong resolve, clear opposition, and shone with the proof of power. Mewtwo was a force to be reckoned with, natural or not. He, like Cresselia, would need to either be converted or eliminated. In the mind of a creature born from the very beliefs of Darwinism, there would be no mercy for those who were unable to acknowledge the superior race.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's shorter than the others...I was looking over my plot again and I realized that I had written a summary for each upcoming chapter for only 4-6 pages. Wow, I was really hoping to keep things short and simple, but I guess I have this mentality that everything I write has to be significantly _long._ Yeah. Weird stuff like that.

YAYYY! I finally argued my point on how Legendaries procreate and why it's possible for Pokemon to die (I had actually been a bit confused in the Pokemon Movie with Latias and Latios. Latios dies, but where does the next one pop up?)! This is actually going to weave into some later parts in the story-I know it's going to sound sueish, but just bear with me...can't we choose who we love?

I'm making Darkrai out as the bad guy, but in all honesty, it _is_ a Pokemon responsible for quite a few deaths...I have a feeling that I'm eventually going to start calling Darkrai "he" in order to make it less awkward for everyone when they're reading this story. I know that I could make Darkrai a girl, but...I see him as a guy, so I'm going to write him as a guy.

That also explains why I call Hak, Aretha's Raikou, a "he" as well. From now on, I'm going to give legendaries genders based on what I think of them. It'll be a mix of preference, design, and personality. My opinions are undoubtedly opinions, so don't be offended if I assign a gender to a legendary and you completely disagree.

Reader Shoutout!

**Someone** - I guess I'm making everyone in the Pokemon contests more "virtuous" than normal? I don't know, I just felt that Phil wasn't a dick and I wasn't going to make him as a douche, so I decided that he was going to be ridiculously self-righteous...which will prove to be a problem for one of our main characters later on in the story. Aretha gave a speech to sorta speak out against the judges...but I feel like all she did was make herself look like a weirdo, honestly. And wayyy to self-righteous. Which she isn't, really.

As for the last names, I said that I used a surname generator to formulate surnames. Honestly, when I checked Bulbapedia and all the other Pokemon websites, they didn't give me a last name for many of the characters. They gave me an English name and a Japanese name...and I wasn't going to just name them twice in two different languages. Harper is a male (from Kalos) and Mary is a female (from Unova). I just realized that Breloom is not native to Kalos...so I'm just going to be BS that before any of you guys complain about accuracy and say Harper received it in a trade. Aretha does have a Gardevoir and I'm sorry I didn't mention that before. However, she has a lot more Pokemon than the ones that I've named so far...

I wouldn't say Rhydon was K. , but from what goes on in the anime, I'm pretty damn sure that Pokemon get hurt when they slam into walls and such. Hence, they will most definitely take damage from being slammed into walls in this fanfic. After all, Aretha pretty much took down Roxanne's Geodude (the first one) by slamming it into the wall and then knocking it out with a move. As for the second part of the battle with the aerial battle, I actually had a bit of a hard time writing it. What I saw in my head was having a particularly hard time being transferred into my words, but hopefully we'll see some more aerial battles to come to sorta make up for what happened between Blue and Aretha.

Hopefully the reason why Sinnoh legendaries are in Hoenn are explained to you in this chapter. If not, please reread the conversation that Aretha has with Wally and Blue after they exit the Distortion World. And there goes Apocalypse! ...Again!

Anyway, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Read on and carry on, my friends!

R&R!


	17. The Intentions of Apocalypse

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! I'm surprised I even got to post this chapter today.

Wow guys, this might be the first chapter that I have without pagebreaks/scene changes _whatsoever.__  
_

* * *

Aretha steadied Blue's Pidgeot for a landing, making him hover a few feet over the ground. She felt the Pokémon's owner jump off first and she twisted her body before leaping off the bird. When she landed, she saw the Viridian City gym leader return the Pokémon to his pokéball and turn back to face her. "Well, what now?" He asked, glancing around him. As a Kanto native, it was only reasonable that he wasn't completely familiarized with Hoenn's cities.

"Look for Apocalypse, I suppose," Aretha sighed, brushing off her thighs as she rose to her feet. They had landed in Fortree City, the fifth town that the Absol had led them to. "Let's head toward the route to the East." Blue nodded, following Aretha through the city. The two of them climbed up the ladders to the treetops before crossing the bridges that connected each treehouse to the next. Once they were clear of the city, they headed east, entering a fairly deserted route. There were a few people here and there, but Aretha could just barely see the tops of their heads in the tall grass. There was certainly nobody waiting around to challenge random trainers to battle out here.

Aretha pulled out a pokéball and sent out her Arcanine. Arky stretched leisurely before sniffing the air, twisting her head from side to side as she eased the stiff muscles in her shoulders. During their stop at Castelia City, the two of them had headed into the Pokémon Center to heal up Paladin and Blue's Pidgeot. While the nurse in the facility tended to their Pokémon, Aretha had gone over to the PC and switched a few team members out of her party. Tramp and Wish had been swapped for Quartz. "Is he close by?" Aretha asked her Arcanine, glancing around her. The sharp bark she received in response confirmed her suspicions

"Apocalypse?" She called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "You here?" She faintly heard Blue calling Zenith in the background, informing the Hoenn Champion of their current location. "Apocalypse?" She stepped forward, a twig snapping underneath her foot. Almost immediately, Arky's hackles raised and she growled, the fur on her spine prickling dangerously. Before she could inquire what was wrong, a portal split the space before them and the five legendaries who had interrupted the tournament passed through the space rift. This time, however, they were accompanied by eight trainers.

"Zenith—the legendaries are back," Blue hissed urgently into his Pokétch. "They have eight trainers with them." A pause. "Right. East of Fortree City." He quickly ended the call and stepped up to Aretha's side, pokéball in hand. "He happened to be in the area," the brunet murmured, keeping his voice low. "He should be here in about twenty minutes with backup."

"Given that these people are staying for a battle," she whispered back to him. "Which, of course, would explain why they decided to bring all five Sinnoh legendaries with them. I doubt they're just bringing them around to show off." Every pair from the group of eight wore similar uniforms to one another. Each outfit consisted of black, but the secondary color varied from pair to pair. One was red, another turquoise, the next blue, and the last yellow.

"We are DiNeo Rocket," a man in yellow and black said, stepping forward from his companions. On his shirt, a yellow two was weaved in with an "n" and an "r". "After the fall of our first to leaders, we arise from the ashes as the most powerful form of Team Rocket."

"And we are NeoAqua," a woman in blue and black announced, spreading her arms with a flourish. "Maxie may have fallen from our ranks, but we will rise and claim the oceans for the resurrected Team Aqua! The world will thrive with water Pokémon and there will never be a lack for hydration!"

"We are NeoMagma," a man wearing a red and black uniform introduced himself and his partner. "We carry on Archie's plans to change swampy regions into land that can be used and cultivated by people and Pokémon alike! With our plans, we will be able to provide more land to live on and allow for more discoveries in ancient Pokémon life!"

"And we are DiNeo Galactic." Two men, both dressed in turquoise and black, adjusted their caps over their dyed hair. "After Cyrus's fall and the failure of his successor—he-who-cannot-be-named—the twice disbanded Team Galactic was able to climb back onto its feet and show that it will be far more powerful than its earlier stages!"

"Together, we are Neogen!" All eight announced in perfect synchronization. "We will divide the known regions between ourselves and rule this land. With our various strengths and our skillful tactics, we will take over the regions and claim the land for our organizations!" One of them broke off from the others and leered at Blue and Aretha with a twisted, sickly sweet smile on his face.

"Our first plan of actions is taking you two down," he said. "With our combined forces and these legendary Pokémon at our disposal, we will be able to defeat whatever trainers come our way. But of course, we must eliminate whoever poses a possible threat to us." His eyes glinted lustfully, a power-hungry look crossing his face immediately. "You will be destroyed!"

At this point in time, Aretha wasn't sure whether she wanted Arky to attack the fool or laugh. The speech that the eight trainers had just given was undoubtedly scripted and practiced multiple times to ensure synchrony. Their wishful thinking of helping the world by destroying parts of it and "rising from the ashes", as the man in the gaudy black and yellow uniform had put it, made their alliance seem surrealistic. In a ways, it reminded Aretha of those crappy, horribly written television series that popped up on her dad's favorite channels from time to time. They seemed like some sort of twisted, antagonist version of the Poké-Power Trainers with their various colorful costumes.

Blue seemed to be going through the same internal struggle as she was experiencing at the moment, the look on his face blank as he tried to process Neogen's words. Aretha almost anticipated the eight trainers to suddenly burst out in peals of laughter and shake their heads, saying something about how their scripted speech had just been a joke and that they were just messing with her. However, taking in the stiff, serious expressions on the eight trainers' faces, she realized that none of them realized the sheer absurdity of their words.

Was it not obvious that the four organizations would most definitely not get along if one faction was completely dedicated to changing part of the world into a waterless region whereas the other wished to submerge another quarter underwater? Aretha glanced at the five legendaries that stood stiffly behind the criminal organizations. There was a good chance that she and Blue would be able to take on all eight trainers, but she doubted that they would play fair and allow Aretha and Blue to battle them in pairs. If anything, all eight of them would attack at once—each with three Pokémon at their disposal at a time. Assuming that none of these trainers were particularly stupid despite their rather pathetic introductory speeches, each and every one of them would have a full team of six Pokémon at their sides. Twenty four Pokémon facing the eleven that Aretha and Blue had together per battle stood as a very unappealing ratio, but it could still be done.

However, it was undeniable that the legendaries waiting behind the eight humans were not for show. They would be much more difficult to take on and even one landed blow could be fatal. Aretha glanced at the tall grass, mentally hoping that the trainers who were hidden would quickly ally themselves with herself and Blue. "Ah, it seems that you've spotted our backup," one of the DiNeo Rocket members mused, a bored expression on her face. "Come on out, you grunts." _Grunts?_ Aretha thought, her eyes widening when several people exited the tall grass and stepped onto the pathway. _Some of them might've been kneeling to stay out of sight!_ The ones that she had seen standing up had probably been stretching their legs after long periods of kneeling.

There were at least thirty or so trainers crowding the route now. Aretha felt herself instinctively step closer to Blue, whose body tensed at the sight of the growing crowd. "We'll amuse ourselves for right now—after all, it's much more fun to play with our prey before we kill them, right?" The woman from NeoMagma yawned, a predatory glint in her eyes. Aretha's blood chilled at the mention of death and Demetra's face flashed through her head. She was too young to die.

"Aretha," Blue hissed, keeping his lips as still as possible. "Run back to Fortree City. Try to get Winona to help." The black-haired girl turned her attention to the brunet beside her in shock. _I can't just leave you here!_ "I can probably hold off a few of them for a couple of minutes. On the count of three…" Six grunts stepped forward, each sending out two Pokémon. Twelve against six, if she left Blue by himself. These people were fighting against him with the intention of killing him. It was hard enough for a trainer to keep track of two Pokémon at a time—what made Blue so sure that he would be able to defend himself with his six Pokémon?

Aretha quickly sent out Quartz, whose red eyes narrowed at the sight of several Pokémon being released. Blue shot her a wild look as the Riolu took a fighting stance but she ignored him. "Quartz, get help!" The fighting Pokémon faltered slightly, a confused look crossing his face before his eyes locked on something behind his trainer. Immediately, the Pokémon took off, leaving a trail of dust as he sprinted to where the Fortree City gym was. "How much time before Zenith and backup show up?"

"You should've gone with him," Blue hissed, disregarding her question completely.

"You didn't leave me alone when we were in the Distortion World," Aretha reminded him. "And don't say that it was because I'm younger than you. If you haven't forgotten, I beat you in the tournament and _I will hold that against you _until you realize that you're as good as dead on your own. So, when's backup coming?" She repeated her question, quickly sending Evanescent and Crescendo onto the field. She hesitated before releasing Paladin as well, bringing out every Pokémon on hand into battle.

Blue cursed and quickly sent out three of his own Pokémon. "Fifteen or so minutes. Do you think we can hold them for the time being?" As he spoke, the opposing twelve Pokémon charged forward, their fangs and claws bared.

"If Quartz can drag Winona out of her gym within the next five minutes," Aretha grit out, "I'm sure we'll be—Shadow Ball in quick succession and Surf—fine." Evanescent and Crescendo released their moves simultaneously, sending a wave of attacks out at their opponents. Blue barely called his Pokémon back in time to avoid being hit by the Swampert's Surf. "Arky, Flamethrower!"

"You too, Arcanine!" The two orange Pokémon leapt forward, streams of fire bursting from their mouths as they attacked their winded opponents. The wave that Evanescent had sent at the opponents lapped gently at the shoes of the trainers who were standing a little further back as the water began to soak into the ground.

"Do you think their boots are made of rubber?" Aretha asked, eyeing the disappearing water thoughtfully.

"Doesn't hurt to try," Blue replied. "Should I get Machamp out for an electric move?"

"I'll tell you when," she told him. "Surf!" Aretha felt the air dry significantly as Evanescent drew the water from the atmosphere and condensed it into a single wave. It slammed into the opposing Pokémon again, knocking every one of them off of their feet. "Get ready," she whispered as she watched the water engulf the ankles of several trainers. "Thunderbolt!"

"Thunderpunch!" Blue's Machamp slammed his fist into the water just as bolts of electricity shot out of Crescendo's hands. They electrocuted the water, successfully passing the sparks onto the trainers who were in contact with the disappearing water. Two of the six trainers who had sent their Pokémon against Aretha and Blue thrashed violently before slumping to the ground. The others, whose toes were being soaked by the far-reaching water, were jolted but otherwise, unharmed. "Not rubber," Blue observed, a slightly pleased tone in his voice. "Should we try lacing one of Evanescent's surfs with electricity?"

"Risky," Aretha replied, watching as the four standing trainers sent out their next Pokémon and two grunts stepped forward to take the place of the two fallen battlers. "Since neither of our Pokémon have S.T.A.B bonus, it'll be a lot harder to keep the charge in Evanescent's attack. Too much water paired with too little electricity means the most they'll get is a spark that feels like someone rubbed their feet against the carpet and tried to shock them." Several Pokémon leapt forward now, their jaws gaping as they aimed for Aretha and Blue. "Get on your Arcanine!" Both trainers leapt onto their Arcanines and the orange Pokémon effectively dodged whatever attack was coming their way.

"Exeggutor, Leaf Storm!"

"Crescendo, Protect!" Both psychic Pokémon lashed out at once, blocking several attacks while unleashing one of their own. Arky snapped at a lunging Dodrio, her fangs digging ruthlessly into the bird Pokémon's flesh. Aretha saw Blue stiffen slightly at the sight of blood, but she couldn't bring herself to remind him that this was a life-or-death situation. As much as her breeder side refused to acknowledge it, it was kill or be killed. "Thunderfang!" The Arcanine's head snapped around and she sank her fangs into the Dodrio's flank, sending bolts of electricity through the Pokémon's veins. The three-headed Pokémon fell limply to the ground, but the faint rise-and-fall of its chest betrayed its death-like appearance.

"Dynamic Punch!" Aretha heard a snapping sound and turned to see a Salamance fall onto its side, one of its crimson wings torn and broken in two. A hard, haunted look set into Blue's eyes and she realized that Blue knew exactly what it was like to destroy a Pokémon. There was a large bruise forming on its side where one of the four punches had landed and it looked faintly winded when its head lolled from side to side on the ground. "Arcanine, Roar!"

"Surf, Evanescent!" The Swampert's caught the Pokémon that were fleeing to their trainers' from the Arcanine's attack. The wave of water slammed the flighty creatures into their owners, sending the entire front line of grunts to their knees. The water Pokémon charged forward, his arms outstretched. "Again!" _There'll only be about fifteen feet between him and the Neogen grunts_, Aretha thought. _If we can get him close and the others closer…_ "Thunderbolt!"

"Thunderpunch!" Blue's Machamp and her Crescendo unleashed their moves simultaneously, sending waves of electricity through Evanescent's ebbing wave. More grunts fell during the fray and alarmed cries from the eight administrators fill the air. Aretha was about to call out another attack when a burst of ice came crashing toward her. Just as the ice shard was going to embed itself into her chest, she felt something slam into her from the side, knocking her off of Arky. She tumbled, a body warm against her own as the two of them hit the ground. Blue winced, blood welling from the gash on his shoulder.

"Exeggutor, Psychic!" Aretha quickly untangled herself from the wounded brunet and stumbled to her feet. Pain laced up her back and she bit back a hiss of pain, her shoulder area throbbing. She must've landed awkwardly when she hit the ground.

"Arky, watch over Blue," the black-haired girl told her Pokémon. "Blue, stay here. It'll be easier for both of us if we each have a Pokémon guarding us."

"Then take my Arcanine," he replied, nodding over to his Pokémon. The orange Pokémon fluffed up and cocked his head at his name. Lifting his head, Blue called out to his Machamp and his Exeggutor. "Earthquake! Leaf Storm!" His Pokémon raced forward, executing their moves and taking down a few more advancing Pokémon.

With Arky guarding Blue, Apocalypse nowhere in sight, and Quartz trying to find Winona to act as backup, Aretha was more than capable of controlling her three remaining Pokémon. Blue's Arcanine would serve as nothing more than a guardian—pulling her out of sticky situations and whatnot, so she could focus completely on attacking with her three other Pokémon. Quickly sending her Dragonite out of his pokéball, Aretha saw a stream of light before Blue's Gyarados joined them on the field. "Paladin, catch!" Wrapping her fingers around a familiar berry in her bag, she tossed it into the air. Her Dragonite swooped down and clasped it between his hands before gaining altitude again. "Outrage!"

All the Pokémon who had flown into the air to attack Paladin dispersed wildly in an attempt to avoid his wrath. Several dragon types fell out of the sky, knocked out by his sudden attack. _He'll be able to fend them off for a few minutes_, Aretha thought, turning her attention back to Crescendo and Evanescent. _I'll have to throw him another berry if I want him to use Outrage again and avoid confusing him._ The corners of her lips quirked upwards when she looked at her Gardevoir and Swampert. "Time to show them why you're the Golden Duo," she murmured, lifting a hand in the opposing team's direction. "Shadow Ball in secession!"

Crescendo unleashed several dark purple orbs, firing them from both hands as she sent them out in a wave. Evanescent charged forward, the rocks around him quivering slightly in anticipation as he ran. "Stone Edge!" The shaking stones quickly attached themselves to the Swampert's arms and he leapt forward, slashing with his armored arms. Opposing Pokémon, who had been distracted by the Shadow Balls that were sent in their direction, were caught off guard by Evanescent's attack. Two Luxios were knocked out and Evanescent sent a Ponyta flying before Cresecendo's Shadow Balls faded.

"Earthquake!" Giving the opponent all of a split second to recover, the Swampert slammed his hands onto the ground, quite effectively making the cracks Blue's Machamp had made larger. A few Pokémon slipped as they tried to stay upright on the shaking ground, their limbs falling into the fissures. "Surf! Crescendo, Thunderbolt charge!" Her Gardevoir rushed forward, her arms crossed over her chest as electricity crackled in front of her. Just as the wave of water slammed into the front few lines of grunts, Aretha gave the signal. "Slash!" Crescendo's arms flew out, making a slicing movement as her Thunderbolt took on a somewhat crescent shape. Bolts of electricity quickly escaped the compressed move and shot off in different directions, filling the water with electricity.

A blue figure snaked around her and Aretha flinched, prepared for the worst. Instead, she saw Blue's Gyarados sink its fangs into a Kangaskhan, sending her to the ground. "Time?" She yelled over her shoulder. She felt something grab her by the collar and drag her to the side roughly. She looked up in shock to see an Arbok snap its jaws shut just inches where her neck had been before. Blue's Arcanine turned, kicking out a hind leg. The foot caught the purple Pokémon in the chest, a rattling gasp escaping the Arbok before it crumpled to the ground. Ignoring the fact that it had fainted, the Arcanine closed his jaws on the snake's tail and began to drag the body around in circles. Eventually, he gained momentum and threw the stiffening Arbok into the front lines, where it came into contact with its trainer.

"You killed him!" Aretha heard the trainer screech a few seconds later. The man pushed forward, a venomous look in his eyes. "You'll pay for this!" He screamed. "I want your head!" The black-haired girl's mind buzzed wildly as she tried to think of how Blue's Arcanine had been able to kill the Arbok with a single blow. _About seven inches beneath the head,_ Aretha's dad had told her, measuring out the approximate length with his fingers,_ is a snake's heart. It doesn't matter how long the snake is or how big it is—the heart is always seven inches below the head._ She stared at the Arcanine beside her in shock as she wrapped her mind around her dad's words. _That's right_, she thought dazedly, _he was telling me about his great grandfather and how farmers protected their Pokémon from Sevipers and other predators._

Either Blue's Arcanine was an experienced snake killer or he had sheer luck. It was highly unlikely for an inexperienced person or Pokémon to be able to strike a death blow—especially one so precise. A rock scraped her cheek in the midst of her thoughts and she winced, realizing that the battle was escalating again. She touched her cheek tenderly, grimacing when she saw blood. If she didn't stop trying to deduce and find an explanation for everything that was going on in right now, she would end up with something deadlier than a shallow scratch. Now that Blue's Arcanine had taken down an Arbok without even blinking, he would be a fairly big target. After all, there was no saying whether or not he was going to take another Pokémon to death.

"Arcanine, Flamethrower!" The Pokémon's head snapped around to give her a confused look, but he obeyed nonetheless. His fire caught on a few charging Bellossoms and they let out high-pitched screams as they tried to put out the flames that were eating away at their petals. Aretha's mind swam worriedly. She wasn't exactly sure what moves Blue's Arcanine had at this point in time—after all, both of them had decided to update their Pokémon's movesets when they stopped at the Pokémon center a few cities back. She remembered lending him her TM for Flamethrower, but otherwise, she was unsure of what other moves his Arcanine had.

Roar was definitely still on the list, but what were the other two? Aretha shook her head and quickly patted the orange Pokémon's haunches, informing him that she wanted to get onto his back. She quickly swung her leg over his side and the two of them headed over to where Blue was fighting off some of the Pokémon who had managed to get to him. The brunet looked up in surprise at her approach, but didn't stop in his attacks as she neared. "What's his moveset?" She yelled, nodding at his Arcanine. Blue shot her a puzzled look and she huffed at him. "If he's guarding me, I might as well know. Arky's is Extremespeed, Flamethrower, Thunder Fang, and Dig."

"Flamethrower, Extremespeed, Dragon Pulse, Roar!" He shouted back. "Where's Quartz?"

"I don't know—he's probably been caught up in the fray—" Aretha broke off, glancing upwards when her Dragonite let out a furious yet confused howl. "—or he hasn't found Winona yet. I have to get to Paladin before he hurts himself." She nodded to the brunet before turning Blue's Arcanine around. "Paladin!" In the midst of his haze, the Dragonite looked down at his owner, who was charging forward on the back of an Arcanine. "Catch!" Paladin had most likely gotten dizzy much earlier than she had anticipated and ate his berry as soon as the first wave of nausea hit. He snapped up the berry she threw at him and wrapped his arms around the next, clutching it to his breast as he led his chasers on a wild goose chase.

Evanescent and Crescendo had somehow managed to keep themselves from being beaten down in her absence, despite the type disadvantages they were getting into. Aretha felt the corners of her lips curl upward in a begrudging smile. It seemed that these Neogen grunts were more aware of type advantages than the stationary trainers in the various gyms were. "Focus Blast! Psychic!" Both Pokémon unleashed their moves simultaneously, coming back to back as they took on their opponents. "Flip!" They switched positions immediately, both facing opponents who held no type advantage over them whatsoever. "Surf! Psychic!" Evanescent's wave of water sent a few Houndooms off with their tails between their legs while Crescendo struck down hard on advancing Oddishes and Vileplumes.

Blue's Arcanine yelped from beneath her and she whirled around to see a Zangoose flex its crimson claws triumphantly. "Dragon Pulse!" The Arcanine snarled as he turned around, slamming into the red-and-white Pokémon. Aretha glanced worriedly over her shoulder and felt a stab of guilt at the reddening spot on the Arcanine's creamy haunches. She leapt off the Pokémon's back, hastily taking off her scarf and kneeling by his legs. She heard a rattling hiss from the side and a wave of irritation flooded through her veins as she froze in her work. Just before Blue's Arcanine could attack whatever was behind her, however, Aretha lowered herself to the ground and swung her leg around, catching the Pokémon in the jaw.

"Back off!" She hissed, getting onto her feet and landing a solid kick on the Seviper's skull. The venomous Pokémon flopped limply on its side and Aretha unceremoniously kicked dirt over it before rushing over to Blue's Arcanine. The orange-and-cream Pokémon whuffed at her in a mixture of amusement, awe, and respect as she knelt by his haunches and began binding her scarf tightly around his legs. "Use Flamethrower on anyone who gets close, got it?" She asked him distractedly as she slipped a finger under her ruined scarf to test the tightness. Almost mechanically, her fingers tied a knot and tucked it into the makeshift bandage as she ran her memories through her head.

Who know a breeder background could be so helpful? There were countless times that she had watched her dad bandage up Pokémon who had been playing too roughly on each other and caught themselves on something. He hadn't been keen on letting her take up the breeding business after him, but he insisted that she learn basic medical skills such as cleaning and bandaging wounds. "Good to go." _For now,_ she added mentally. She quickly patted his lower back and he knelt to the ground so she could climb onto his back again. She would've liked to use a potion on the wound area, but it would take too much time.

"_Voir!_" Aretha's head snapped around and she saw Crescendo kneeling on the ground, her arms wrapped protectively around a motionless Evanescent. Her blood ran cold as she numbly sent Blue's Arcanine into the thick of the battle, pushing through the crowds that were gathering around her Gardevoir.

"_Shadow Ball!_" Crescendo's eyes flashed dangerously as she sent purple orbs in all directions, aiming wildly for whoever was closest. Aretha stumbled off the Arcanine's back, an irritated voice in the back of her head complaining about how she had _just_ climbed back on. She ignored it and raced forward, falling to her knees beside her Swampert. Frantically, she placed her head against his chest, straining for a heartbeat. Her hand went under his nose, hoping to feel the soft exhale and inhale of a fainted Pokémon. A long moment passed before she heard the steady beating of his heart and a wave of relief crashed onto her. Quickly returning him to his pokéball, Aretha hastily dumped a hyper potion on Crescendo and turned to see Blue's Arcanine snapping at the incoming Pokémon.

Her heart began to sink as she saw Blue's Gyarados slump to the ground in utter exhaustion. There were several fainted Pokémon on the field now, blocking her view of Blue and Arky. Overhead, Paladin let out an anguished cry, his movements becoming more and more desperate as his pursuers continued to target his wings. _Help me, Demetra_, Aretha thought helplessly as she dodged an incoming Pokémon move. Death no longer seemed like a faraway entity that would only come to greet her after seventy years. With Evanescent down, Crescendo barely managing on her own, Paladin on the verge of collapse, Blue's Arcanine wounded and his Gyarados knocked out, and the man himself out of sight, Aretha felt overwhelmed by the situation at hand. Suddenly, as if a bright light had suddenly dropped into the abyss that was swallowing her whole, she heard a familiar cry split the clearing in two.

"_Rio!_" Three enormous blue orbs tore through the battleground, catching a few unfortunate Pokémon and throwing them onto their sides. Quartz appeared in the fray, several of Aretha's Pokémon following close behind. A mixture of relief and confusion washed over her in that second as her Riolu raced toward her.

"_Aura Sphere!_" As Quartz attacked the Pokémon around her, Aretha lifted her hand and returned Paladin to his pokéball. Quickly pocketing the capsule, she grabbed Crescendo and pulled her onto the Arcanine's back with her. "Quartz—over here!" The Riolu turned and leapt into her arms as Blue's Arcanine took off. Aretha saw a few familiar faces flash past as the orange Pokémon brought them to where his owner was waiting, exhausted, bloodied, but triumphant. He flashed her a tired smirk and shifted against Arky, who was bearing quite a few bloody bites on her back and neck. She slid off his Arcanine's back and took a hesitant step forward.

"Backup's here," he murmured, wincing when Winona knelt down beside him and worked his jacket off. She inspected the wound quickly before calling over a paramedic. Once the medical worker was at Blue's side, the Fortree City gym leader turned to face Aretha. A stiff smile crossed the black-haired girl's face—after all, she and Winona hadn't gotten off on the best terms during their battle.

"Sorry we took so long," the violet-haired woman said, almost unapologetically. "I decided to wait for Zenith and the rest of his backup before heading over." _What?_ Aretha thought, trying to keep the shock from her face. If Zenith and his crew had ended up showing a few minutes later, then there was no knowing what kind of state she and Blue would have been found in.

"Why are my Pokémon out on the field?" She asked, trying to keep her tone pleasant as Tramp, Wish, Neptune, and several others headed over.

"Zenith called your father," Winona replied, nodding at her Skarmory as it passed overhead. "He sent over quite a few of your Pokémon." The violet-haired woman had a "aren't you happy that we did that" tone in her voice and a displeased expression on her face. Aretha stared at her, suddenly feeling a sudden urge to wind her arm back and sock the woman in the face. She resisted, remembering the state that she was in and how her Pokémon were waiting for her next commands. Shaking her head, she walked over to Blue and handed him her pokéballs, ignoring the questioning look on his face.

"Watch these for me," she said to him before turning away. "I'll be borrowing your Arcanine for just a few more minutes," she added, making an approximate estimation of how much time would be required to end the battle as she studied the battlefield. Before waiting for his reply, she leapt back onto his Arcanine's back and squeezed his sides with her thighs. Her Pokémon followed immediately, allowing her to lead them back into the midst of battle. "Neptune, Submission! Tramp, Iron Tail. Wish, keep using Aura Sphere. Take down as many of these bastards as you can." Three of her Pokémon stayed where she left them and the rest followed her as she led them to another spot.

"Iridescence, take Nightshade's back. Thistle, watch Glacier's." Her Leafeon, Glaceon, Umbreon, and Espeon all nodded before taking their positions. Aretha pointed to a small spot a few feet away and nodded to her two remaining Pokémon. "We'll be heading over there. Quartz, I want you to keep as many Pokémon away as you can with Aura Sphere. Arcanine and I will be hunting down the eight we saw in the beginning." The orange Pokémon whuffed underneath her, as if agreeing with her decisions. "They should be the farthest back. Hold on, Quartz." Securing the Riolu under her arm, she lowered herself as far down as she could onto the Arcanine's back. "Extremespeed."

They shot forward, an orange-and-cream blur in the crowd as they weaved in and out of battles. Unfortunately, the eight administrators in the back spotted her before she could get too close and were quickly calling their grunts to attention. Aretha let out a frustrated growl and shifted so that Quartz could crawl out from underneath her. "Flamethrower! Aura Sphere!" The Arcanine and the Riolu released their moves simultaneously, catching a few grunts off guard as they scrambled to avoid getting hit. Squeezing the Arcanine's sides particularly hard, the orange-and-cream Pokémon leapt forward, landing in the circle of administrators.

"Stand down," she hissed to the nearest one, a DiNeo Galactic member.

"Don't look too triumphant, kid," the woman shot back, her eyes narrowing. "If you haven't forgotten, we're the ones with the legendary Pokémon." She nodded at a large, white-and-purple creature. "Attack, Palkia! Aura Sphere!" Aretha opened her mouth to call Quartz to send one as well, but before she could get the words out, the ground seemed to explode where Bleu's Arcanine stood. The three of them tumbled for a bit, the black-haired girl flying off of the Arcanine's back. She landed hard on her aching shoulder and she bit back a cry of pain as she quickly flipped herself back onto her stomach. Leaping to her feet, she felt a wave of horror as the orange Pokémon beside her tried to get off of his side but failed to get his feet underneath him.

Her red scarf was soaked and his blood painted the ground where he lay. "Quartz, guard him!" Aretha could barely recognize her voice at this point—so scratchy and high pitched. It almost hurt too much to listen to herself speak. Her head throbbed dully as she steadied herself on her feet and stood defensively in front of the fallen Arcanine and her Riolu. The DiNeo Galactic member snorted in amusement in her actions and shook her head.

"Silly girl. You forgot you were in enemy territory, didn't you?" Her voice was smug and she crossed her arms haughtily over her chest. "Pity. Finish her, Palkia." Aretha's eyes flickered over to the legendary Pokémon—she hadn't expected him to attack so quickly. _Aura Spheres generally take time to charge…_but this was a legendary she was facing—she couldn't expect it to abide by the rules that usually restrained common Pokémon. She glanced over her shoulder, almost expecting Quartz to have caught on to her initial plans and have an Aura Sphere charged in his hands. She felt a stab of disappointment and dread when she saw his empty hands and the stricken look on his face.

"Goodbye, brat." Aretha turned around slowly, staring at the DiNeo Galatic woman. The cyan-haired administrator took a step toward her, hand outstretched, palm down. Before it had even clicked in her head, the black-haired girl found herself throwing herself at the Neogen administrator, hands outstretched and nails bared. What she hadn't been expecting however, was a well-aimed shot to the diaphragm. She fell back, crumpling over herself as she landed on her side, each muscle in her body screaming in pain as she tried to shift into a defensive position in front of Blue's Arcanine and her own Riolu. "_Bitch_," she heard the administrator hiss, taking a few angry steps forward. "Forget Palkia, I'll kill you myself…"

Aretha's head swam, the colors blurring and her lungs being overwhelmed by her body's demand for oxygen. Everything seemed to become much louder than it had just a few seconds ago and each click of the woman's heels felt like someone was clashing cymbals in her ear. A low groan left her, but it sounded so alien that she almost expected a decaying hand to burst out of the ground and drag her under.

Suddenly, her vision filled with black and white as one cry silenced all others. It was ear-splitting but clear, and Aretha blinked rapidly, trying hard to keep conscious. She saw a familiar pair of crimson eyes and a strange feeling of comfort washed over her. Suddenly, it felt as if everything was going to be alright. "That Absol…that damn Absol's back again!" Aretha heard someone shout in the background. "I thought I told you to get rid of it!" Her eyes widened at shock at the news.

"I thought I did! It wasn't moving when we left Violet City…" A panicky voice answered, flustered and fearful. Suddenly, the realization dawned on Aretha. Apocalypse had been trying _to lead _her to where Neogen was showing up. He had been trying to get her from area to area in order to chase them down. He had been counting on her this entire time to take down the criminal organization and she had failed him in the end. Absolutely and completely failed. _I'm sorry_, Aretha thought helplessly, closing her eyes. She could feel Apocalypse's tender, compassionate gaze travelling over her face. _I couldn't do anything. I couldn't stop them._ A tear spilled over her eyelid and tumbled down her cheek, cleaning a small patch of skin.

"Bii?" Aretha's eyes snapped open again, but she could barely make out what was in front of her. There was something green-and-black hovering in front of her. She squinted and felt a soft breath tickle her cheek, cooling the tear trail that had been left behind. "Bii!" In the background, she could hear several confused voices going off at one another before the DiNeo Galactic woman's voice cut through the haze like a knife.

"_Just catch it!_" Catch? Aretha felt every muscle in her body freeze up at the word. But before she could react, the world around her burst into light and she felt weightless as her body left the ground and did not return. Something curled up by her shoulder, purring softly as it nestled its head into the crook of her neck. Too tired to respond, Aretha's eyes slipped shut again and she fell into the darkness.

* * *

A/N: Cheers to whoever can guess what the Neogen people wanted to catch! Anyway, I nearly caught myself writing "Plasma" in place of "Galactic" at least twice-I swear, Pokemon Black 2 is getting to me. However, I wasn't sure if I wanted to include Team Plasma in the first place because I had just recently started playing Black 2 and they weren't part of the original plot, so I'm guessing that the people who disbanded Team Plasma for the second time just weren't up for uniting it again...?

If it's not clear, Aretha switched a few team members out of her party and Blue changes the moves of one of his Pokemon (Arcanine), but it was briefly mentioned and not at all part of the chapter as a whole.

Haha! Now you know that Aretha has more than just Espeon and Umbreon! You'll meet the entire Eevee crew when we get to the later chapters. The plot thickens! And he-who-cannot-be-named is that stupid guy who pops up toward the end of Platinum and tries to revive Team Galactic but totally screws up. Such a loser that he cannot be named for fear of shaming him even further.

Reader Shout-outs!

**Someone** - For the Distortion World, I wanted to get the general feel for it, but that obviously didn't work. Honestly, my time in the Distortion World was very brief when I played Platinum, so I don't have many memories of it. I generally skipped over it because it wasn't an amazingly important part of the story. As for the dark figures, those weren't Giratina's tentacles (he doesn't have tentacles, does he?), they were mirages that were created by Darkrai. Totally left you guys in the dark there-Darkrai and Giratina had attempted to trap Wally, Aretha, Blue, and Aretha's Pokemon in the Distortion World and make them lose their minds from Darkrai's shadow figures and nightmares.

The part about Blue's "fake mother" was partially based off of the anime's counterpart, Gary Oak. He doesn't have parents and I've noticed that many other Fanfiction writers assume that they're dead. I just wanted to add something creepy that will affect him in the future...heehee, small teasers! This was also slightly based off of "Mother Knows Best" from Disney's "Tangled" because of the whole song that talked about how mothers know best and how the "Mother shadow" tried to tell Blue that "Mother will take care of"...before she was cut off.

As for Darkrai, I hope none of you are hating on him yet. I honestly do feel that Darkrai is a creature that deserves a bit of hate for what he's done...but you'll see his reasons for being a few chapters later, I suppose.

After thinking about it for a bit, I feel like I've explained why there are "baby legendaries" that roam around. If you guys can remember the Lugia baby Silver that was (well, at least I think he was) in one of the Pokemon Movies and how there are multiple legendaries but...no daddies or mommies? I don't know, they said that Silver the Lugia was eventually returned to the Mommy Lugia, implying that there was a Daddy involved despite the fact that there was no Daddy mentioned. Damn you Gamefreak/Creators of Pokemon who think that it's a good thing for little kids who don't have Daddies to run around the world with mutated monsters that can freakishly evolve and somehow not kill each other while also being capable of doing so.

...Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and you can expect another one coming up in the next few days. Read on and carry on!

And for a small celebratory note, we're about halfway done with this story! My outline for the plotline says that we're probably going to hit around 33 chapters, so you can consider this chapter or the next as possible halfway marks.

R&R!


	18. Dimension Hopping

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON

I'm really sorry that I didn't update sooner-school's started again and I'm finding myself swamped on the second day back to school. My update dates are going to slow down dramatically from here on out...

Well everyone, take advantage of this time and tell your friends to read this story!

* * *

Something warm was smoothed over her forehead, the item having a scratchy, damp feel. For a split second, Aretha thought that Arky had taken to cleaning her face with her tongue—a sign of affection between Arcanines. The orange-and-white Pokémon always was equipped with a ready tongue to clean up whatever smudges and smears would make themselves onto Aretha's hands and face. However, whatever was cleaning her face didn't have the exact feeling of _being alive_ because the item stayed smooth and covered more area than Arky's tongue would be able to in a single sweep. _What the hell happened?_ Now that her body was catching up with her rebooting mind, every muscle and ligament screamed in protest, especially the ones around her right shoulder.

Memories from her archive flooded her mind, snippets of scenes flashing past her. She remembered being confronted by Neogen and their ridiculous plan to take over all the known regions and then divide them amongst themselves. She remembered facing off several grunts at a time and battling in sea of Pokémon. She remembered getting hurt, seeing Blue get hurt, and her Pokémon fighting until the point of exhaustion. Blue's Arcanine had been bleeding very badly and she had told Quartz to guard him…Aretha shot up into a sitting position only to double over in pain. Where was Apocalypse? Where was Quartz and where was Blue's Arcanine?

"Hey, hey, calm down!" One hand rested its hand on her back while the other squeezed in to press itself against her shoulder. Aretha started to panic for a few seconds, but eased into the stranger's arms when her body mutinied against her mind and unceremoniously shut down on itself. She allowed herself to be guided back down onto whatever she was lying on—a mattress of sorts. Her nerves were too frazzled to help her identify her surroundings. "Sleep," the earlier voice commanded her. A warm hand drifted over her forehead before stroking a path down her hair.

Aretha couldn't find it in herself to fight back against the gentle touch. She drifted off to a somewhat fitful sleep, faintly recognizing when the people in the room changed. At some point, something climbed into the bed with her and curled up next to her leg. A cold, wet nose was nudged into her hand and a soft rumbling noise filled the air. She must've lost track of time at that point, because when she shifted into consciousness again, she was surrounded by warm, purring bodies. There were a few curled around her neck, others outlining her body, and one even sleeping on top of her, seemingly soothed by the slow rise and fall of chest.

After what felt like eternity, Aretha felt her body reluctantly inform her head that it was about to operate to a fairly good extent. Her eyelids fluttered open and she stared up at a wooden, unpainted ceiling. Turning her head slowly to the left, she saw two bundles of fur block whatever lay on her left. When she looked toward the other side, she saw a similar scene—there was something blocking her view of the room. Resting her head on her pillow, Aretha closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before chuckling at the sheer absurdity of the situation at hand. She winced, however, when a sharp pain laced up her ribs. _No laughing_, she decided, swallowing whatever giggles she had left.

She had been threatened with death and had been knocked out by the enemy—an act that probably killed her. _Am I dead? Is this Pokéheaven?_ She had never expected to be surrounded by God knows how many Pokémon when she woke up, though. The bed shifted slightly and a wet nose began to prod her chin. Squeezing her eyes shut before opening them, Aretha blinked blearily at the face before her. The creature whuffed a few times and nuzzled her when she squinted at him. Once her eyes focused, she realized that she was staring at Apocalypse, who proceeded to clean her face with his tongue.

_Okay, I'm dead._ The Absol stopped in mid-swipe, cocking his head to the side. _Apocalypse is washing my face. I'm surrounded by Pokébodies. I'm in Pokéheaven._ She sniffed the air, frowning a bit when she felt her bladder scream in agony. _I still have bodily needs in heaven?_ She thought the urge to pee would be the least of her worries when she was dead.

Laughter filled the air and she flinched, lifting her head in alarm to survey the room. A shaking figure stumbled toward her, clutching his waist as he wiped a tear from his eyes. "This isn't Pokéheaven!" He laughed, calming down significantly and looking down at her with peaceable, kind eyes. "Would you like me to take you to the toilet?" Aretha felt her face flush in embarrassment when she realized that she had been assuming that she had been dead and that she had been speaking aloud without even realizing it. Apocalypse's eyes twinkled in amusement and he gave her nose one last lick before nudging whatever was on her chest off.

She pushed off the covers, scrambling to get to her feet. Her body complained loudly at her sudden movements, but didn't shut down on her as she pulled her knees to her chest. There was a tug of fabric as she tried to sit with her legs crossed and she realized that she was wearing a nightgown of sorts. Again, the person next to her burst into laughter at her shock. "What, you've never seen a nightdress?" She gave him an embarrassed glare, quite aware that her red cheeks could destroy the effect. _Nightdress? Don't you mean nightgown? _He calmed down in a few seconds and gave her a broad, gentle smile. "Would you like me to show you where the toilet is?" _Toilet?_ Aretha thought. _Am I in a different region?_ After all, nobody in Hoenn called the restroom a toilet.

"Please." Her voice was rusty and screechy from disuse and she swallowed with a bit of difficulty. She looked up in surprise when a wooden cup was pushed into her hands and sniffed its content suspiciously. This earned her another chuckle and she scowled, sipping the beverage. To her surprise, it was just lemon water and she tried to keep herself from downing the entire cup. When her bladder screamed again in protest, she winced and held out the half-empty cup away from her body. It was taken from her and her outstretched arm was carefully taken as she was helped to her feet. Surprisingly, she didn't slam into any Pokémon as her legs swung over the side of the mattress.

"Steady," the man warned her when she wobbled. She growled, her entire mind set on getting to the bathroom as soon as possible. He seemed to understand her urgency and began to lead her away from the bed. Aretha bit back a frustrated cry when it took her nearly three minutes to advance a few steps. Her bladder felt like it was about to explode faster than a Wheezing could use Self-Destruct. Suddenly, her legs were swept out from underneath her and she let out a startled squeak. Barely holding onto her bladder, she realized that whoever had been helping her to the door had decided to pick her up instead. He let out a strained grunt before continuing on, earning another embarrassed flush from Aretha.

_Put me down, put me down, put me down_, she chanted mentally as he carried her out the door and into an unfamiliar setting. After what felt like years of embarrassment, he set her down and placed a hand firmly on her shoulder when she tried to flee. "It looks like you're having a bit of a hard time focusing," he observed. "Wait here for a few seconds—I'll go grab someone to help direct you." He paused, chuckling. "After all, we don't want you stepping _into_ our toilet rather than use it, right?" _Step into the toilet?_ Aretha thought in confusion. _Do they not have plumbing?_ The man's footsteps faded and she shifted uncomfortably, the faint smell of urine and feces reaching her nose.

"There you are!" She heard someone call out. It was a female voice this time and two hands rested on her shoulders and began to steer her away from where she was standing. "Didn't think I'd see you standing in front of the men's toilet," the woman giggled. "But then again, Ravio was taking you over, wasn't he?" _Ravio?_ Aretha thought. _I don't think I've heard that name before…_ "He told me that your eyesight isn't the best right now, so I'll have to tell you where to crouch." _Crouch? They don't have actual toilets!_ She felt the hands on her shoulders twist her to the side. "Alright, I'll hold up your nightdress and you can take care of yourself."

"A-alright." Aretha felt the skirt being lifted up and she moved for her undergarments. To her surprise, nothing was there.

"Oh, your underclothes. They're back at in your room with the rest of your clothes. You kept slipping in and out of consciousness so frequently that it was just a bother to get you out of your underclothes every time you needed to go to the toilet." Aretha flushed as she relieved herself and twisted around to look in the general direction of the woman who was with her. "Oh! My name is Kira, if you didn't know already. Are you done?"

"Do you have anything to wipe with?" Aretha asked hesitantly. These people seemed as if they lived in a completely different era—a time where modern conveniences were extremely uncommon.

"Dried leaves," Kira replied, passing her a small bundle. "Once we get you back to your room, we can get you up to date on what's happening. From what Crimson says, it sounds like your situation back at home is dire. Brings back bad memories from those Steelheads," she trailed off, clicking her tongue in disapproval as Aretha hastily cleaned herself up and stood. "Ready? Alright, let's get you back to your room…"

* * *

"It's been about four days since Celebi lead us to you," Ravio, the man Aretha had seen earlier, explained. After she had been settled back down into her bed, her bedside had immediately been swarmed by fretful Pokémon. A Chatot perched on her shoulder, a Piplup in her lap, Apocalypse by her side, and a Chikorita by her feet. "The second we took you back to our home, these guys pounced. They've always been caring, but they almost suffocated you when they saw you." Aretha smiled wearily—it was probably the breeder-caretaker vibes that drew them in. She and her dad always had a way with Pokémon after years of working with them, after all.

"Crimson summoned Celebi and showed up a few hours after you did. She took one look at you and told Celebi to take her back to her time so she could tell everyone that you were okay." Noticing the puzzled expression on Aretha's face, Ravio smiled and began to explain. "Crimson is a Pokémon Ranger. She's quite amazing—she helped us take down the Steelheads, who were these evil people who wanted to take over the world. Anyway, she's been coming back every day to check up on you and tell us what's been going on in your era. We're from your past, you see. You're technically our future."

"It turns out that the evil organization of your time withdrew after you disappeared. They've been pretty 'under the radar' as Crimson puts it, but they've still been wreaking havoc here and there. They've been robbing banks, breaking into these things called 'PCs', and other ridiculous things. Funnily enough, they always manage to get away before Crimson and the others can catch them. It's almost like they have Celebi taking them from place to place," Kira said, crossing her arms. "Which is completely unlikely because our Celebi is a sweetheart and wouldn't have bothered to save you if it was allied with those maniacs."

"Now we're just waiting for Crimson to come back. She said that it was risky to move you back to your time when you were still going in and out of conscious. She was pretty adamant in saying that her time's doctors are better than ours. More technology, she says. Whatever that is," Ravio said, shaking his head. "I don't understand how you people can't live without this 'technology'. Isn't it simpler to live how we do?"

"Knock, knock?" Someone tapped the doorway. Aretha, whose eyesight improved after getting some food and water into her system, looked up to see a brunette leaning on the doorway with a wiry smile on her face. "It's not nice to speak of others behind their backs," she said, stepping forward. "Aretha, it looks like you're up. Do you feel ready to travel back?"

"For the most part," she replied, ignoring the screams her muscles gave out when she shifted slightly. "Can I know who you are and how you are related to me before you drag me out into oblivion and maybe send me into the hands of Neogen?" The brunette's blue eyes twinkled with amusement and she walked over to Aretha's beside, hand outstretched.

"Summer Arithorne," she introduced herself. "But everyone calls me Crimson. I'm Zenith's childhood friend, I was in charge of directing the security of the tournament, I'm Nema's—one of the people who provided commentary—best friend, and I'm with the Ranger Organization. I also am the daughter of two breeders."

"That last fact was to earn some brownie points, wasn't it?" Aretha asked, watching the Piplup at her side leap into the ranger's arms.

"Definitely. Fellow breeders unite?" Crimson offered. "Anyway, we need to get you back as soon as possible. I've been telling everyone that you're alright, but nobody wants to believe me until they actually see you. On top of that, but they want to know if you can start identifying Neogen administrators when we start hunting them down."

"Doable," Aretha said, carefully swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "I'll need a few minutes to change and then I'll be ready." She winced as she rose to her feet. "Make that fifteen. When it gets to twenty, I think I'll stay in bed for a day longer."

* * *

Crimson and Aretha landed more or less on their feet—the two of them nearly toppled over when the ranger tried to keep the black-haired girl from tumbling to the ground. When the two of them steadied themselves, Aretha's skin tingled and she instinctively slapped her arm. Crimson smiled sympathetically at her and stretched her limbs. "You get used to it after a while," she told Aretha. "I used to hate it whenever that happened, but I've traveled through time so many times that it just doesn't get to me anymore."

"Does anyone know about your whole time-traveling mania?" Aretha asked, dusting herself off.

"Beside my husband, no," the woman replied. She smiled at the surprised look on the black-haired girl's face. "I got married early," she said, lifting a chain from around her neck and showing her a modest ring. "As for everyone else, I just told them that I had a few friends who had found you but were wary of giving away their location. Said something around the lines of how they're political refugees and don't want to be found out." Crimson shrugged nonchalantly. _For a woman who's a part of a justice league of sorts, she's quite a good liar_, Aretha noted ruefully. "Anyway, I'm just going to summon Latias so we can fly to where Zenith and the others are waiting." She pulled out a laser and pointed it up at the sky.

She drew a design that looked like an upside-down star, but it was incomplete. Within a few minutes a cry tore open the sky and a red-and-white Pokémon appeared. The Latias blinked at Aretha and circled her curiously before sticking her face in the girl's. Crimson laughed as the black-haired girl smiled and rubbed the legendary Pokémon's forehead. "Well, let's get going. Feel free to climb on first." Aretha moved to throw her leg over the Latias's back, but something tugged on her shirt and held her back. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Celebi's hands tangled in the fabric of her clothes.

"Celebi?" She asked uncertainly.

"Bii!" The green Pokémon opened its mouth and a white orb encompassed the two of them, dragging them through time again. Aretha could barely register the shocked expression on Crimson's face before the scene before her was replaced with another. When the light faded, the girl found herself standing next to a newspaper stand. Aretha's eyebrows furrowed when she glanced over and read the date on the papers. _December_, she thought. _Seven months ago._ She looked in confusion at Celebi, who hovered by her with wide, unblinking blue eyes. "Bii," the legendary said, pointing into the distance.

Suddenly, the doors across the street exploded and several people in black clothes emerged. A black van stopped by them and they clambered in, various duffel bags and sacks tossed over their shoulders. The last one looked around before locking eyes with Aretha and leaping into the car. She felt her blood chill as the van drove away and smoke escaped out of the destroyed building.

Seven months ago, a bank in Sinnoh had been robbed and a quite a large portion of Sinnoh civilians lost everything they had. Aretha whirled around and raked over the headline of the newspaper—Sinnoh Heights; local newspaper. "My God," she whispered, turning around to look at Celebi. "This is why you took me back in time?" The legendary Pokémon nodded and looped its finger in a counterclockwise circle. "You can turn it back even more?" A nod. "I could've stopped that bank robbery." Another nod. "You can take us back to when Neogen was forming and take them down." A small smile crossed Celebi's face and it nodded firmly.

If anyone had told Aretha that she would one day assist in the destruction of a criminal organization by traveling through time, she would've laughed. But now that she was looking this truth in the eye, she realized that there was nothing laughable about it. She nodded to the Celebi and it let out a soft cry of excitement before summoning another portal for them to travel through.

* * *

"So we can travel through time with this little guy?" Carter asked, glancing at Celebi as it wrapped its hand around one of his fingers. The legendary Pokémon chirped happily, swaying from side to side as it pulled the man along. Beside him, Felix smiled and turned his attention back to Aretha.

"I suppose you've never heard of Celebi," Zenith said, leaning forward slightly. He rested his elbows on the table and watched Carter and the time traveler lazily. He and Crimson were seated at his dining table. Aretha stood to the side, Apocalypse seated calmly by her legs. "Celebi, the legendary time traveler. Crimson and I used to pretend that we were human versions of Celebi." Aretha caught the ranger's eye and the brunette's eyes twinkled knowingly. "Celebi has the ability to travel through time without limitations, but chooses not to travel too often in order to avoid disrupting the peace of the dimensions it enters."

"And how exactly will we be entering dimensions without disrupting the peace?" Carter shot Felix a helpless look as Celebi began to pull him around in circles on the porch.

"That's the point—we won't be able to," Aretha deadpanned. "If we want to change what has happened before present day, we'll have to disrupt whatever peace or chaos that moment had at the time."

"It also means that what has happened so far is subject to change," Crimson said. "It means that everything that happened between the time that Neogen started and today will be altered. Ultimately, the choice of traveling back into time to resolve whatever is happening now will result in altered futures where Aretha and everyone we've come to know may play as large of a role as they do now."

"So is life going to change _every_ time we head back into the past? If even the slightest thing changes, we could very well be looking at a team that doesn't include Aretha," Felix pointed out. "And of course, if it wasn't for Aretha's Absol…none of us would be aware of what's happening with Neogen. We wouldn't have even been able to confront them as we did a few days ago…"

"Celebi has the ability to hold open multiple portals at once," Zenith said, straightening up slightly. "According to legend, at least. If Celebi can open a portal to this time—the time that we know now, and portals to the past where the future will be changed…we may be able to finish our mission before the dimensions collapse on us and we end up with a half-changed future and a still-flourishing Neogen."

"Risky business," Crimson added, "but completely doable. If we freeze time in this dimension and then skip over to dimensions to change what's happening there, we can still return here and not see too many changes. Time would pass for the most part, but it'll be a different time to what's really happening. There's no knowing what'll happen with our memories, but this frozen area will act as a tether that we can come back to. It'll act as the place where we stop and gather ourselves before jumping into another mission."

"Mission," Carter snorted, smiling when Celebi reached for his other arm. "You make this sound as if we're secret agents."

"We are secret agents in a sense," Felix told him. "Ones that can time travel, at least."

"Now that we know what's going on…do you guys need us to repeat anything we just said?" Zenith asked, turning to the video call that had been going on during their conversation. In the small screen, Aretha saw Blue and Red seated next to each other with Wally in the background.

"_We're all good here_," Blue told them. "_I'll relay the message along to the Champions as soon as I have the chance. I doubt Iris and Diantha will be able to join in on the whole time-traveling madness though. They're the ones getting the brunt of Neogen's guerilla warfare, after all._"

"That's good. We'll see you all in a bit." Crimson ended the all and glanced over at Aretha, Felix, and Carter. "So who's going in the first shift?" She asked. "SSQS will be more than willing to help you in these missions—they've all been complaining for the past few months about how they've been stuck to regular ranger duties as opposed to taking down criminal organizations again."

"Well, Aretha and I will definitely be participating," Zenith said, getting out of his seat. "I think it'll be safe if we have about four or five people per mission."

"I'll come with you," Crimson said.

"I'll go as well," Felix said, ignoring the scowl that Carter shot in his direction.

"So I'm sitting out first, huh?" He grumbled.

"Four or five, Carter, four or five," Crimson reminded him. "You can be the last person in this first mission."

"And we're getting started when?" The Johto Champion asked, perking up immediately.

"As soon as I send in a report to Professor Hastings and the rest of us get everything else ready," she told him. "I'm sure all of you guys want to have some time to rearrange your teams and get everything up to date. Prepare for battles and a lot of sneaking around."

* * *

"_Aretha!_" A purple-and-white Pokémon lifted an arm above his head, ready to bring it down hard on the black-haired girl who was sprawled on the ground before him. Despite the severity of the situation, she felt oddly at peace as Palkia prepared to attack.

Celebi had taken them to the when the organization had first begun, where they were hunting down legendary Pokémon. They had ambushed Neogen when they entered Darkrai's lair, but they were shocked to see the nightmare Pokémon defending the organization's grunts. It seemed that the legendary Pokémon had sided with Neogen as he attacked them. From there on, their defeats continued to pile up as the legendary Sinnoh Pokémon seemed to be won over by Darkrai's alliance with Neogen. Despite the fact that several of these legendaries were against one another, they trusted one another far more than they dared to believe Celebi and the Pokémon that were allied with Aretha and the others.

After losing Giratina and Dialga to Neogen, Celebi brought them to Palkia's lair after everyone decided that their best tactic would be to capture the legendary Pokémon before Neogen could get to them. They had challenged the Space Pokémon about twenty minutes earlier and were teetering on the verge of defeat. Palkia was far less agreeable than any Pokémon that Zenith had come across—Kyra, his Kyogre had submitted to him after an hour of battling…and that was on his own. There was the risk of the Space Pokémon disappearing into a space rift the second that he fainted—meaning that he would return in time after deciding that whoever had threatened him first was gone.

Before long, half of the Pokémon they had on hand were knocked out while the other half was barely holding on. Every time Crimson tried to use a tranquilizer dart to make Palkia drowsy, he always disappeared into a space rift and attacked one of their Pokémon. At one point, the legendary Pokémon decided that going after Pokémon wouldn't stop the attacks from coming, so he began targeting trainers. Felix would've gone down first if Carter hadn't tackled him to the ground and Zenith would lost a limb if Aretha didn't pull him aside first. The legendary Pokémon seemed to change tactics immediately, targeting the trainers' limbs as opposed to their bodies.

That was how he caught Aretha—she had almost leapt out of the way of Palkia's strike when he caught the edge of her shoe and sent her flying. He towered over her now, his arm ready to deliver a decisive blow. She braced herself, arm lifted up in an attempt to shield herself. There was a flash of orange and white before a pain-filled cry split the air. Arky crumpled to the side as Aretha leapt to her feet, grabbing a hold of Palkia's arm as he returned it to his arm. Flailing, she managed to flip herself so she was straddling his arm. Bracing herself, she crawled toward his neck, just barely avoiding the hand that came to pick her off.

"Avius, Hydro Pump!" A blast of water came the arm that was reaching for Aretha, knocking it off course. "Everyone, aim for his arm! Don't let him grab her!" Zenith shouted, directing each of his Pokémon to where they were to hit. Then came the onslaught of attacks—Aretha winced as fire licked at her shoulders as she crawled along and nearly leapt off in surprise when sparks climbed up where she was. "Don't use moves that are too strong! We don't want to knock him out!"

"Moves that aren't too strong? If you haven't noticed, we're all Champions and we all have our A teams out! Weak moves are virtually impossible!" Carter yelled back, ducking when Palkia lashed his arm out. Zenith blinked at his friend and cursed. "We can try to use ineffective moves, but otherwise, we won't be able to do anything." He paused, glaring up at where Aretha was. "What the hell is she doing, anyway?"

"I have no idea," the Hoenn Champion replied, directing his Ninetails to the next location he wanted her to attack. "But we're going to have to trust her." Aretha was at Palkia's neck at this point, ironically towering over the seven-foot creature with her five feet. She planted her feet on either side of his head and wrapped her arms around his head.

"Calm down," she muttered under her breath, wincing when her sore ribs came in contact with the crest on Palkia's head. "Calm down, calm down, I'm not here to hurt you." She forced her body to relax as the legendary Pokémon began to thrash and prayed that he wouldn't throw her off. "I'm here. I won't hurt you." However, her words only seemed to enrage him more and he let out a furious cry, his hands coming up to grab her.

"Ice Beam!" His wrists were froze together, but that meant that she was clamped between his hands. She scowled at Zenith and his Pelipper, but begrudgingly noted that it would be harder to throw her off if she was frozen to Palkia.

"Ineffective moves, Zenith, ineffective!" Felix snapped from below.

"Would you rather I had knocked Aretha seven feet into the air and let her fall fourteen feet?" The man in the white hat shot back.

"_Shut up!_" She roared, startling both of them. Giving both of them a glare that promised death if they spoke, Aretha turned her attention back to the Palkia underneath her, making her body as relaxed as possible. _Keep calm_, she thought. _Breathe, Aretha. He won't relax if you don't. Calm him down._ The thrashing underneath her gradually subsided until Palkia just stood there with his arms frozen above his head. Despite how comical the scene would have been in reality, Aretha could feel the tension in the air oozing around her like half-crystalized honey. _Warm water should do the trick_, she thought, glancing up at the ice that was around her. Her waist, which was trapped in ice, was beginning to numb over.

"Can someone get a hold of Paladin?"

"Aviur can get your Poliwrath up to you," Carter told her, nodding to his Arcanine. Neptune clambered onto the orange Pokémon's back and stood on his feet when he reached Palkia.

"Waterfall. _Slowly_." She stressed the last word, hoping that the legendary Pokémon she was currently stuck to wouldn't freak out at having water being poured over his head. In all honesty, when water moves were carefully restrained they were the equivalent of garden hoses and even spray bottles. Neptune's gentle Waterfall melted the ice quiet quickly and Aretha started when she realized how warm the water felt against her skin. In a strained voice, she asked, "Does anyone have a blanket? Or a pocket warmers?"

"Oh crap—right, you were just frozen." Carter looked around helplessly. "We have spicy berries and Pokémon," he offered. "Will that work? We can get all our fire Pokémon to curl up around her."

"And build a fire in the middle of a den that's bound to be attacked by Neogen? Good choice," Crimson snorted, rolling her eyes. "Here's the deal: get Palkia _out of here_ first and find some other cave to hide in. I'll go find a Slugma or something with the Flame Body ability to get Aretha's body temperature up. The fire Pokémon sound like a good idea, though." She nodded before heading out of the cave. Carter shrugged and headed over to Arky, who was still lying on her side.

"How's she doing down there?" Aretha called down, feeling the ice around her waist starting to melt.

"I can't tell if her shoulder is dislocated or broken," he shouted back, "but she'll be better once we sedate her. Zenith, did Crimson leave some of her darts behind?"

"Yes and no," the Hoenn Champion replied, turning around. "She didn't leave her gun with us, but there are bound to be darts littered all over this cave from when she tried shooting at Palkia but kept missing. I'll see if I can find any on my dowsing machine."

"Aretha, don't worry about falling," Felix told her. "Cobalt'll catch you if you fall." The Lucario stepped forward at his trainer's words, as if proving that he would. Aretha smiled wryly at him and was about to reply before the ice that was holding her up slipped on the running water and slid off the crown of Palkia's head. She fell forward, a startled squeak escaping her as she was quickly enveloped in Cobalt's arms. Two warm, human hands retrieved her from the Lucario's embrace and half-led, half-dragged her to where Arky was. It seemed that Carter and Zenith were able to sedate her and she had already curled up in a ball to sleep.

Aretha felt the first spark of warmth and quickly tucked herself into the Arcanine's side. Zenith's Ninetails, Cosmic, bounded over after being revived and draped her tails over the black-haired girl. She let out a small, contented sound as she wormed her way deeper into Arky's silky fur. "Oh crap, Crimson told us to GTFO before we warmed her up, right?" Carter whispered furiously a look of fear crossing his face.

"Don't worry, I'll tell her that I was more concerned with Aretha's health at the time," Felix soothed him. "Palkia's extremely important to us right now, but we can't let Aretha freeze to death. Besides, she's practically soaked to the skin after that ice-melting session. If we tried to drag her out into the open where the wind's practically howling at the mountainside, she'd freeze faster than a water droplet on Snowpoint Peak." A shuffling sound filled the air and the Sinnoh Champion turned around to see Palkia lumbering toward Aretha. A low keening noise came from him and he lowered his head to where the black-haired girl was.

Aretha popped her head out of her bundle of warmth and blinked blearily at the legendary Pokémon. There was the sound of rapidly advancing footsteps coming from the cave entrance and all the occupants in the room stiffened immediately. Was Neogen already here to claim Palkia? Instead, Crimson appeared in the doorway, flushed and panting with Celebi hovering over her shoulder. She took one look at the situation and let out a frustrated growl. "Why isn't Palkia in a pokéball and why are we still standing here?" She demanded.

"Aretha was on the verge of freezing to death and we couldn't just push her to the side to take care of Palkia. Besides, it's not like he's going to attack us anytime soon. He's gone almost completely docile," Felix pointed out. "And where was the Pokémon you went out to get?"

"Couldn't get there in time," she replied rushing into the cavern. "I was about to summon Latias when Celebi came up to me and pulled me onto the ledge. I saw a platoon of Neogen members marching this way. We have all of five minutes to get out of this place before they seal off all possible exits." She paused, glancing in Palkia's direction. "As much as I hate to say this, we'll have to try flinging as many pokéballs as we can at Palkia if we want to get him out of here."

"Five minutes and a legendary Pokémon to capture? Sounds like a mission," Carter snorted, scooping up an armful of pokéballs from his backpack before letting them spill onto the ground before Aretha. "Let's start throwing, then." He picked up one and pressed the button on the front, making it expand to its throwing size. He threw it with ease, watching the ball tap against the orb on Palkia's chest. The legendary Pokémon reappeared from the capsule as quickly as he had disappeared, looking somberly at Aretha as he lowered his head and butted him with the crest on his head.

"I think he wants _you_ to catch him, Aretha," Zenith said after a few long moments.

"Why?"

"Well let's think about it. He probably knows that Neogen is out coming for him and after you managed to calm him down without too much trouble, he probably trusts you the most out of all us. It's worth a shot," Felix said after the pokéball he tossed also burst open on the first twitch. Aretha eyed Carter's bag of pokéballs and began to rummage through them blindly, allowing her hand to drift through the sea of capture capsules before she came across one that sparked on contact. Her fingers wrapped around the pokéball and she lifted a pristine, white pokéball with a band outlined in red.

"A Premier Ball?" Carter deadpanned, a disbelieving tone in his voice. "Aretha…that pokéball has one of the worst capture modifiers of the entire bunch. It's practically the equivalent of a regular pokéball." She frowned as she studied the pokéball in her hand, turning it over in her hand as she questioned whether it would be an acceptable method of capture or not. A strange look crossed Carter's face and he knelt down beside Aretha, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Was there something about this _one_ pokéball that made you grab it?" When she nodded hesitantly, he gave her a small smile. "Then that's the one that'll catch him."

"Are you absolutely sure, Carter?" Zenith asked uncertainly.

"I'm not sure about you guys, but I've been chasing legendaries all my life," the Johto Champion huffed. "I've also been helping Crystal and the professors catch Pokémon to gather more data on them. Crystal may have never caught an actual legendary before, but I remember quite clearly that my Suicune had chosen me over the man who had chased him for ten or so years. After all this time I learned that the Pokémon is the one who chooses his owner…and if the owner recognizes this desire, there'll be a special pokéball that will guarantee the capture of that Pokémon. I remember when I was going to catch my Suicune, there was this one Ultra Ball that spoke out to me more than the Dusk Balls I was using at the time, but I kept using my Dusk Balls until I ran out. Out of sheer frustration, I picked up the Ultra Ball and threw it at my Suicune…and it caught him like it had been crafted for him in the first place.

"If that Premier Ball speaks volumes to you…then it'll definitely capture that Palkia." He scowled before muttering, "Even with a capture modifier the same as a regular pokéball." A small smile quirked the corners of the black-haired girl's lips as she returned her attention the Premier Ball in her hand. Aretha curled her fingers over the pokéball and clicked the button on the front, expanding it to its capture size. She presented the Premier Ball to Palkia, who slowly leaned forward and rested his crest against the pokéball. He disappeared in a swirl of red and the capture capsule twitched once, twice, three times in Aretha's hand. Everyone seemed take in a sharp breath of air as the Premier Ball stopped moving and a small smile crossed her face when the capture was completed with a small satisfying click.

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating in the past week! I could tell you about how I have a wave of homework crashing down on me, but I'm sure you're used to those "excuses" and would rather have me move onto more interesting things, like the story.

I'm actually halfway done with the next chapter, but the homework that's piling up on me, it's not going to be posted anytime soon. And soon as in three days later.

I had a very intense but really satisfying Pokediscussion with my best friend even though she's new to Pokemon. Honestly, there are a lot of things in the Pokeuniverse that don't make sense and I wanted to explore some of those things with my friend, who, although is new to this world of Pokemon, can provide insight because she isn't "as far in" as we are.

Reader Shout-outs!

**Kadesh2501 **- I want to know what you think about this chapter! Please, please, please review!

**Someone -** "Di" also stands for "two" when you're speaking biology or chemistry. Think of "DiNeo" as "Second New", which is a horrible translation, but you get what I mean. Hopefully. As for the legendaries...the next chapter explains why said legendaries did not participate in the battle. As for speaking, there were quite a few Pokemon that jumped into the fray while Winona took up from the back. She had a few moments to talk before she leapt into battle herself. Not to mention that, but they were in the very back, where Blue was doing quite a good job holding the Pokemon off.

Well, thanks for reading, everyone, and hopefully I'll be done with my homework soon enough so I can work on my fanfics and keep updating!

R&R!


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